As a young women’s hockey conference, founded in 2017 and home to a number of programs that had to pull themselves up to the DI level less than a decade ago, NEWHA has been looking for opportunities to put itself into national contention. Now, those chances are starting to come.
NEWHA got its first automatic bid into the national tournament in 2023, when LIU won the conference championship and faced Wisconsin in the NCAA opening round. Although LIU was the newest addition to the conference — having joined in 2019 — it had the most robust out-of-conference schedule. In that 2022-23 season, LIU faced No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, No. 3 Northeastern, and No. 12 Penn State, and met with No. 10 Quinnipiac, No. 5 Yale, No. 13 Princeton, and No. 15 Penn State the year prior. They then went on to a remarkable 26-2-0 in-conference record the following year, finishing 19th in the national standings, before being knocked out of the NEWHA semifinals in a stunning overtime upset by Franklin Pierce.
Between the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament guaranteeing a high-caliber matchup and more room in their schedules to slate matches with top-ranked teams, NEWHA programs have more experience with a larger variety of play than ever before, and skilled play at that. Out-of-conference games can show teams new styles, new ways of thinking, and new ways to win games, which can translate into better adaptability on the ice, better skill arsenals, and better rankings in the national standings. Additionally, it’s the simple math of the NPI: more points for more wins and even more so for wins over higher-ranked teams. NEWHA teams can leverage these out-of-conference games to climb higher, like Franklin Pierce did with a win over Vermont last season. With those benefits in mind, here are five out-of-conference matchups to put on your calendar this season that have the chance to help NEWHA climb the national rankings:
1. Vermont at Franklin Pierce – Friday, Oct. 9 & Saturday, Oct. 10
There’s a history here, albeit brief. Last year was the first-ever meeting between these two teams, and it came to a series split. But after spending both games last year on the road, Franklin Pierce will get home ice advantage this season, which seemed to be a significant contributor in their successful 2025-26 campaign (14-4-0 at home, 9-7-2 away). The win over Vermont was also where a couple of freshmen found their groove, with Addison Andre and McKenzie Grimm both scoring alongside veteran and future captain Alex Cistolo in a rather contentious 3-1 victory. Between the history, the home ice advantage, and the strength that Franklin Pierce brings to the table this year, this one feels like the best chance for a NEWHA team to pick up an out-of-conference victory.
2. Assumption at Holy Cross – Thursday, Oct. 1
This one should be an exciting one to watch, with two young teams that made remarkable leaps last year. After joining NEWHA back in 2023, Assumption has already jumped the conference’s leaderboard, finishing a mere two points behind 2026 NEWHA champion Franklin Pierce. Additionally they return a highly veteran unit, led by a captain group that includes Kayla and Ava McGaffigan and Justina Valentini, who collectively account for more than a third of last year’s team points. On the other side of the ice, Holy Cross picked up their first-ever national ranking last season and finished third in a competitive Hockey East, their first time outside of the bottom two since joining the conference back in 2018. Although a much younger group, the Crusaders still have plenty of returning skill, including sophomore and Olympic bronze medalist Naemi Herzig and 2025-26 rookie phenom Violet Carroll.
3. Franklin Pierce at Clarkson – Friday, Oct. 16 & Saturday, Oct. 17
By the end of the 2025-26 season, both of these teams were earning votes towards the nation’s top 15, with Clarkson locking in its place at 12th and the Ravens hanging just outside of the mix. Franklin Pierce has had success against ECAC teams before, including a road win over Dartmouth in 2024 and a pair of wins over Union College back in 2022 and 2023. They’ve had more out-of-conference wins than a lot of their NEWHA peers, and with a determined group wanting to get back to the national tournament, a challenge like this is exactly what they need to keep climbing.
4. Stonehill at Syracuse – Friday, Sept. 25 & Saturday, Sept. 26
Stonehill has yet to win a game against the Syracuse Orange, but last year, they came close, falling 3-2 in the first game of an away set. And they sat near Syracuse on the NPI leaderboard all year long, finishing at 33 compared to the Orange’s 28. This year’s contest will be an interesting juxtaposition, with an older Orange group pitted against a young Skyhawks roster, but Stonehill has some strong freshmen prospects in one major area where their opponent struggled last season: scoring. In 2025-26, Syracuse sat towards the bottom of the national standings in scoring, only averaging 1.86 goals per game compared to Stonehill’s 2.62. And perhaps Stonehill’s talented new blueliners can do more to protect against the attempts that do come the way of returning starting goalie and junior captain Alexsa Caron.
5. Assumption at Mercyhurst – Friday, Oct. 30 & Saturday, Oct. 31
This is a clean slate. Assumption and Mercyhurst have never met in D-I women’s hockey, and it’ll be a good test for a Greyhounds team that looks to be strong heading into the 2026-27 season. Assumption faced its first AHA opponent in Robert Morris last season, falling 4-2 and 6-2 on the road, but it was good exposure for this now-veteran group. Mercyhurst would be a challenging contest for nearly any women’s hockey team, as they finished 12th in the national standings last year and are bringing back a lot of the same talent, but this matchup comes a couple weeks into the season, notably after Assumption’s game with Holy Cross. They’ll already have some high-level play under their belts and be back on the ice ready to go out in Erie, PA.
NEWHA play kicks off in just two weeks, with plenty of action both in- and out-of-conference. Post will get the first tilt, with a home game against the AHA’s Lindenwood Friday, Sept. 18.
