RJ Craig
The air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing color, college football season is in full swing, and your local coffee shop is brewing many pumpkin spice lattes. That’s right—fall is here. With the temperatures dropping, you might be inclined to start wearing your favorite autumn sweater or hoodie. But I would think twice because while the air might be cooling down, hockey season is warming up, and fast. Let’s take a look at what the upcoming Lady Ice Dawgs’ season has in store.
First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the new Akins Ford Arena. Gone are the days of setting up the temporary makeshift rink in the ballroom of the Classic Center and subsequently tearing it down. Now, a permanent sheet of ice will be in the heart of the Classic City.
Since the team’s inception a couple of seasons ago, practices have been held at the Atlanta Ice Forum in Duluth, Ga., about an hour’s drive west of Athens. Practices are typically late at night—around 10 or even 11 p.m. due to poor ice availability from other teams using the rink. Add that all together and a one-hour practice suddenly turns into a three-hour endeavor.
Although the team will not be able to play at the new rink until the spring semester, as it is still under construction, it will be a huge relief for the Dawgs once spring rolls around. Here’s to no more trips to Duluth (for practice, at least).
However, they will not be the only tenant at Akins Ford Arena. The UGA men’s D1 and D3 hockey teams and Athens’ new minor league hockey team, the Rock Lobsters, whose inaugural season is this year, will also play at the new arena.
Now let’s review the roster changes during the offseason.
Additions: F Georgia Verheyden, F Maddie Walker, G Saige Legault (from Maryville)
Subtractions: F Hannah Knight (graduated), D Morgan Alwardt (graduated)
Knight and Alwardt, two integral pieces of last year’s team, graduated this past spring. Knight will surely be missed this season both on the ice as an experienced player and off it as a leader in the locker room.
Alwardt, on the other hand, will be sticking around with the team—not as a player, but as an assistant coach as she has continued to live in Athens since her graduation.
With these two players leaving the ice, three more have entered.
First up is Georgia Verheyden. A rising freshman, she enters this season as the first commit in the program’s history with the announcement made on July 8 this year.
From the Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Ga., Verheyden will fortify the front end of the Dawgs’ offense at the forward position.
The next player to commit to the Lady Ice Dawgs was Maddie Walker, a freshman out of Fair Haven, N.J. Like Verheyden, she will contribute to the offensive side of the puck at the forward position.
Last but not least is the transfer from Maryville University, Saige Legault, where she played goalie. The Suwanee, Ga. native will split starts with Ashlynn Carroll and provide much-needed depth at the goalie position the team lacked in last year’s campaign.
With the new roster changes, the team will look to improve upon last season’s fourth-place finish in the Women’s Division behind the likes of University of Tampa, University of South Florida (USF), and University of South Carolina.
Not only were there changes to the roster, but there were coaching and managerial changes, too.
Jason Riherd, head coach of last year’s team, will not return this season. Instead, Andrew Smith will take the reins. The De Pere, Wis. native played in the De Pere youth hockey program and brings 20-plus years of coaching experience. He will look to build on the strong foundation that Riherd left behind.
Trevor Kalinowski returns in his second year as an assistant/goalie coach as he continues pursuing his Ph.D. in Toxicology.
As previously mentioned, Morgan Alwardt will be part of the coaching staff as assistant coach, continuing her role as a leader and mentor. Alwardt’s father, Jason, will join her as the team’s first general manager. Having accrued over forty years of hockey experience as a player and youth coach, Mr. Alwardt will oversee the team’s operations this season.
While there certainly were many changes to the UGA women’s hockey program, there were even more changes to the general women’s hockey landscape, mainly expansion.
All teams from last season will be returning this year: Tampa, USF, UGA, Auburn, and South Carolina. This season, four new programs enter the fold as expansion teams: University of Alabama, Georgia Southern University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Tennessee.
That makes ten teams in College Hockey South’s (CHS) women’s division, with room for possibly even more expansion in the near future, which will only further cement women’s hockey across the South. The future of women’s hockey has never looked so bright.
Finally, let’s talk about the Lady Ice Dawgs’ schedule.
The Dawgs kick off the season on the road at Alabama on September 14th-15th for their first-ever series against the Frozen Tide.
Their next road trip will come two weeks after at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Ga. taking on the Florida circuit of Tampa, USF, and Miami. The Dawgs will seek revenge against Tampa and USF who beat them last season.
Their lone game in October comes against Auburn, who they beat three times in three meetings last season.
To cap off the fall semester, the Dawgs will play one last series in the first weekend of November against Georgia Southern, Tennessee, and a rematch against USF.
In the new year, the Dawgs will make their much-anticipated home opener at the Ford Atkins Arena, twice hosting Georgia Southern. Later that month, they will conclude the regular season in Tampa, Fla. before heading back to Athens to host the CHS Playoffs, thanks to the new arena.
This season will be one for the history books for many reasons. Between the new arena, the roster and staff changes, and the new expansion teams, there is much to look forward to. And the good news is, the season is just right around the corner.
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