The North Dakota Fighting Sioux women's ice hockey team was the women's college ice hockey team at the University of North Dakota. They were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women ice hockey.

The program was cut by the University of North Dakota on March 29, 2017.

History On October 5, 2010, North Dakota was ranked 10th in the Uscho.com poll. It was only the second time in program history that the club was in the top 10 in either the USA Today or Uscho.com poll. The last time came during the 2008–09 season after a 7–2–1 start. On October 23, 2010, Jocelyne Lamoureux had a hat trick and one assist. In addition, one of her goals was the game-winning goal. The hat trick was the first by a North Dakota player since Cami Wooster in 2005. On February 25–27, North Dakota participated in its first WCHA First Round Home Playoff Series, vs. Bemidji State at Fido Purpur Arena. On February 27, the Sioux advanced to their first WCHA Final Face-off berth winning an overtime thriller 3–2 in OT with a goal by Monique Lamoureux.

In its WCHA home opener on October 21, 2011, the top line of the Fighting Sioux combined for thirteen points as they bested the Ohio State Buckeyes by an 11–1 margin. Monique Lamoureux-Kolls tied a North Dakota record with a 5-point game. In the contest, 13 different Sioux skaters registered at least one point. Michelle Karvinen scored a hat trick and logged one assist for four points. In addition, Josefine Jakobsen and Jocelyne Lamoureux each had 4-point games. Several program records were broken in the game including: most goals scored in a game (11), largest margin of victory (10), and largest margin of victory over a conference opponent (10).

On March 29, 2017, the University of North Dakota announced it was cutting women's hockey – along with men's and women's swimming and diving – to meet a mandated $1.3M reduction in the athletics department budget that was part of a university-wide budget cut. Following the decision to drop the program, 11 ex-UND players filed a complaint claiming that dropping the program violated Title IX guidelines. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights dismissed two discrimination complaints related to the decision and on June 20, 2019, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the school brought on similar grounds.

Year by Year Won championshipLost championshipConference championsLeague leader

Season Coach W L T Conference Conf. W Conf. L Conf. T Finish Conference Tournament NCAA Tournament2002–03 Shantel Rivard 10 14 2 Independent Did not qualify2003–04 Shantel Rivard 16 14 2 Independent Did not qualify2004–05 Shantel Rivard 9 23 3 WCHA 6 21 1 7th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Duluth Did not qualify2005–06 Shantel Rivard 7 27 2 WCHA 3 23 2 8th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify2006–07 Shantel Rivard (18 games)Dennis Miller (18 games) 3 31 2 WCHA 0 27 1 8th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify2007–08 Brian Idalski 4 26 6 WCHA 4 20 4 7th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Did not qualify2008–09 Brian Idalski 13 19 4 WCHA 9 16 3 6th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Duluth Did not qualify2009–10 Brian Idalski 8 22 4 WCHA 7 19 2 8th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Duluth Did not qualify2010–11 Brian Idalski 20 13 3 WCHA 16 10 2 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify2011–12 Brian Idalski 22 12 3 WCHA 16 9 3 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Lost First Round vs. Minnesota 2012–13 Brian Idalski 26 12 1 WCHA 18 9 1 2nd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota State Won Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Lost Championship vs. Minnesota Lost First Round vs. Minnesota 2013–14 Brian Idalski 20 12 4 WCHA 14 10 4 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Won Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Lost Championship vs. Minnesota Did not qualify2014–15 Brian Idalski 22 12 3 WCHA 16 9 3 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify2015–16 Brian Idalski 18 12 5 WCHA 13 10 5 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. St. Cloud State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Did not qualify2016–17 Brian Idalski 16 16 6 WCHA 11 12 5 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify

Head coaches Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. Championships 2002–2006 Shantel Rivard 5 45–91–11 .344 None 2006–2007 Dennis Miller 1 0–18–0 .000 None 2007–2017 Brian Idalski 10 169–156–39 .518 None

Records vs. WCHA opponents Team City, State Arena Record First Meeting Recent Meeting Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Ridder Arena 4–32–0 St. Cloud State St. Cloud, Minnesota National Hockey Center 15–18–4 Minnesota Duluth Duluth, Minnesota AMSOIL Arena 5–35–1 Minnesota State Mankato, Minnesota All Seasons Arena 11–21–6 Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Kohl Center 2–34–1 Bemidji State Bemidji, Minnesota Sanford Center 24–18–3 Ohio State Columbus, Ohio OSU Ice Arena 11–18–3

Olympians Kristen Campbell Michelle Karvinen Anna Kilponen Emma Nuutinen Vilma Tanskanen Susanna Tapani Tanja Eisenschmid Susanne Fellner Jocelyne Lamoureux Monique Lamoureux Johanna Fällman

Fighting Hawks in professional hockey = CWHL All-Star = NWHL All-Star= Clarkson Cup Champion= Isobel Cup Champion

Player Position Team(s) League(s) Years ChampionshipsKayla GardnerForward Calgary InfernoBrynäs IF Dam CWHLSDHL 2 Halli KrzyzaniakDefenseCalgary InfernoCWHL 2018 Clarkson CupJocelyne LamoureuxForwardDream Gap Tour PWHPA 2015 Clarkson CupMonique LamoureuxDefenseBoston BladesDream Gap TourCWHLPWHPA 2015 Clarkson Cup

Awards and honors Shelby Amsley-Benzie, 2014–15 and 2015–16 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, 2014–15 WCHA Goaltending Champion, 2014–15 All-WCHA First Team Casie Hanson, 2007–08 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Michelle Karvinen, 2011–12 WCHA Rookie of the Year Jocelyne Lamoureux, 2011–12 and 2012–13 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, 2011–12 WCHA Scoring Champion

References