Holy Cross women's hockey aims to top historic season opener

The Holy Cross women’s ice hockey team is coming off an historic season, and the Crusaders will be looking to build upon that success when they host Delaware in their 2026-27 opener at 7 p.m. Sept. 25.

Last year, HC won 19 games, set program single-season records for Hockey East victories (10) and Hockey East points (37) and advanced to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time.

Additionally, the Crusaders became the first women’s team in school history to be nationally ranked at the Division 1 level. Holy Cross spent four weeks in the USCHO poll.

“It’s great to sit back and think about what we did,” eighth-year HC coach Katie Lachapelle said before a recent practice at the Hart Center Rink, “but now it’s, ‘How do we make it better?'”

In March, Lachapelle, who was honored as the Hockey East and Division 1 Women’s New England Coach of the Year, signed a contract extension through the 2030-31 season.

<

Holy Cross returns 19 players from last year’s team and welcomes eight first years, including goaltenders Livia Debnarova and Jorinde Heller and speedy forward Manuela Heidenberger.

“We’ve looked really good in practice,” Lachapelle said. “We’re figuring out who’s going to step up and navigating how it looks with a sophomore and two freshmen goalies. Our freshmen bring a ton of energy and they are going to help us. Our returners are looking great.”

HC’s top two scorers, sophomore Violet Carroll (10-16-26) and Naemi Herzig (7-15-22), are back. Herzig helped her native Switzerland win a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Senior forwards Emily Crovo (5-14-19), Lulu Rourke (7-9-16) and Reghan Chadwick (7-6-13) should also be key pieces this season.

Holy Cross ranked eighth in the nation and third in Hockey East with a team goals against average of 1.84.

“They learned how to win last year with that target on our back for a little bit in January being nationally ranked,” Lachapelle said. “It was a surprising to not be the underdog because that’s always been our thing. To have the experience of feeling that different pressure will be a huge growth moment if we feel that again.”

–Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross women’s hockey aims to top historic season opener