MILTON, Mass. – Building an NCAA Division III women's ice hockey program is nothing new to Curry College women's ice hockey Head Coach Kelly Rider. She built the program at Northland College, an NCAA Division III in Ashland, Wis. prior to joining the Colonels.
Rider was hired back in June as the first Head Coach of the brand-new varsity women's ice hockey program, which is set to begin its inaugural season during the 2021-22 academic year and will play in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), the conference's newest sponsored sport. She has taken the last six months to get acquainted to everything Curry has to offer.
"I went through my hiring process virtually and what I took away from that is a virtual experience doesn't have to be scary," Rider said. "I've always been a person that needs to see the campus first. But, going through a search process virtually helped me not get distracted and focus on what was truly important to me and answer the question, does Curry check those boxes? I think in that way I can relate to recruits going through this process now. Curry's campus, students, and our athletic department have been even better than the great vision I had in my head."
She has also had the time to familiarize herself with the campus and her additional roles like being the SAAC Advisor.
"My favorite spots on campus include the Learning Commons, the Sports Cafe in the Student Center, and the Bookstore," Rider stated. "I love spending time at the rink, too." She continued to say "I've been really impressed with the College's COVID response along the with policies and protocols in place. I can't wait to meet more people I've met virtually in person, like our SAAC group. They've been great with giving me the inside scoop on Curry."
Recently, Rider rounded out her staff with Assistant Coach Kaylee Harnen and Goaltender Coach Maureen "Moe" Bradley.
"We are really excited about our staff," Rider said. "I think we complement each other well, but everyone values culture and shares the same vision. Working with Kaylee before, makes this year easier and will mean a lot next year. She's great with building relationships with coaches and players. Moe is so talented and yet so humble. We've enjoyed collaborating and learning from each other."
The staff is hard at work building the program for the inaugural season.
"I don't think any of us expected to still have areas of North America still not playing hockey," Rider said. "But this hasn't slowed recruiting. We've watched a lot of video and have had to be creative. I think our Zoom recruiting night was a success and we've done some smaller ones with different organizations. I've been on numerous Facetimes and we've talked to a lot of coaches."
The program is looking forward to collaborating and building off the success of the men's hockey program.
"I'm excited we have a successful Men's Hockey program and that we have a women's club team that will continue even once we get going," Rider said. "When I look at our Sports Cafe every day, I envision that we have men's hockey players, women's hockey players, women's club hockey players, as well as other student-athletes and non-athletes, all watching playoff hockey."
Even with the struggles that the pandemic has presented, the team is coming together well.
"What I'm most proud about our committed players is who they are as people," said Rider. "They have overcome adversity and have done it with grace, positivity, and wanting to do good for others. They are passionate not just about hockey but being part of an inaugural class that will lay the foundation of Curry Women's Hockey. They have already begun to develop our winning culture even though most have never met in person. I think that's important. We don't want to build a team and the first day on campus is day one. Day one was when we had two committed players connecting with each other. We've heard that players have their own group chats, are watching each other's games online, and interacting with one another."
The program has seen multiple commitments and Rider is excited about the inaugural group.
"We have a talented group so far and they come from all different backgrounds," Rider said. "We have players who come from prep school, AAA or junior, and high school hockey. Our players currently come from 11 different states (California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) I cannot wait to have this group together and continue to add to our family."
The program has added the following players to the team thus far: Emily Bisbee (F, Lady Militia; Weymouth, Mass.), Paige Bourgoin (F, Hebron Academy; Wales, Maine), Ella Campbell (G, Little Caesars; Farmington Hills, Mich.) Jenna Desmarais (F, Spitfires; Seekonk, Mass.), Kenzie Forgarty (F/D, San Jose Jr. Sharks; Roseville, Calif.), Grayson Goolgasian (F, LaSalle Academy; Johnston, R.I.), Kalie Gruhlke (D, Eau Claire Stars; Chippewa Falls, Wis.), Kami Krumenauer (F, Eau Claire Stars; Eau Claire, Wis.), Anna Langton (G, Minn. Ice Cougars; Zimmerman, Minn.), Sammy Lassman (D, Frederick Gunn School; Parkland, Fla.), Alex Ledin (F, Mansfield, Mass./OA/Foxboro; Foxboro, Mass.), Kourtney Mielke (F, Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato; Hutchinson, Minn.), Mya Morningstar (D, Buffalo High School; Buffalo, Minn.), Rowan Nasty (F, Team Colorado; Superior, Co.), Paige Rodriguez (F, Eau Claire Stars; Eau Claire, Wis.), Danielle Stein (F/D, Ironbound; Plainview, N.Y.), Ainsley Wescott (D, Berwick Academy; Saco, Maine), Meagan Young (F, Washington Pride; New Market, Md.). The Colonels are at 18 players and counting.
As the program comes together, it's about building a solid foundation, which Rider is doing.
"While we are a new program in the sense that we can create our culture and there are many opportunities, next fall won't feel like a new team because we're already developing relationships with each other," said Rider. "The support we have in place to be successful (like the locker room area and the staff) is beyond what a typical first-year program has and what some established programs even have."
This is just the beginning for the Curry College women's ice hockey program and the foundation that Rider is building now is setting up the Colonels to be successful heading into their inaugural season this coming fall and beyond.
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