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North Dakota Cuts Women's Hockey Program


The University of North Dakota cuts women's hockey program effective at the end of 2016-17 academic year

Less than 24 hours after the U.S women's national hockey team made history in their victorious battle for gender equity, the sport was dealt major loss. The University of North Dakota announced Wednesday it was shutting down its women's hockey program, along with their men's and women's swim and dive programs.

North Dakota, while yet to win a WCHA Championship, has rostered some amazing talent to compete in the Olympics. Michelle Karvinen (Finland), Anna Kilponen (Finland), Vilma Tanskanen (Finland), Emma Nuutinen (Finland), Susanna Tapani (Finland), sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (USA) and Monique Lamoureux-Morando (USA) as well as, Tanja Eisenschmid (Germany). The Lady Hawks last made the NCAA tournament in 2013 but had not finished worse than fourth in their conference and had an overall record of 144-89-25 since 2010-11.

“I have accepted the athletic director’s recommendation with the understanding that it provides for investing in championship teams in a balanced manner for both our women’s and men’s athletics programs,” UND President Mark Kennedy said. “This is a painful step to take for all parties involved, including me, but it is necessary given today’s budget realities. My heart goes out to all those who are disrupted by this change. We are proud of the way they have represented UND.”

The news came as a shock for most, former players and fans of the University objected to not only the end of the program but how the information was handled. As the current North Dakota team practiced in preparation for next season, news broke on social media that the program had been cut. To add to the lack of respect displayed by the University, a Lady Hawk commit was flown in that morning with her family to visit the campus.

Lauren Hennessey, a goaltender from Massachusetts, was on campus when she heard the news about the program being cut and voiced her frustration. "This puts me in a very tough situation... My dream of playing Division I hockey is now slim-to-none." Hennessey told the Grand Forks Hearld.

The University cited state mandated budget cuts and Summit League scholarship requirements for reasons to cut the programs. Current and past players took to social media to voice their displeasure with how the University handled the information.

“Today’s developments are excruciatingly sad for the University of North Dakota, the WCHA and the sport of women’s hockey,” WCHA Commissioner, Katie Million said in a statement. “While we understand the significant, state-mandated budget cuts faced by the entire University and respect the decision-making process of the UND administration, there is no denying the impact of losing a program that has produced Olympians, advanced to NCAA tournaments and is a perennial fixture in the national rankings.”

The loss is a big one for hockey. This program has consistently been in the Top 10 conversation and head coach, Brian Idalski has done a phenomenal job turning that program around. Although it could have been handled better by officials at North Dakota I'm still struggling to figure out how they decided to cut this program in the first place.

the cut of one of the nations premier programs.

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