This past weekend, the Villanova women’s club ice hockey (WICE) team capped off a stellar season by winning its first cup for the Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference, a goal that has been set for quite some time.
In a hard-fought battle, Villanova crept its way to a 1-0 victory over Delaware in overtime.
“Winning the championship means everything for our team,” sophomore forward Zoe Garrett said. “Every player on our team has worked so hard and has put in countless hours throughout the season to make this dream a reality.”
The team competes in the D-II Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference (DVCHC) division of the American College Hockey Association (ACHA).
WICE is an entirely student-run team led by president and senior forward Austen Elvekrog. Elvekrog schedules ice slots for games and practices, properly registers each player within the division and league, coordinates with coaches of other teams to schedule games and much more.
Elvekrog doesn’t run the team alone. Fellow senior forward MK Rusnock is the Vice President and assists on and off the rink, along with being in charge of transportation for the team. The team often piles into university vans to take the ice.
Roles such as Treasurer and Equipment Manager are assigned to underclassmen. Aside from Elvekrog and Rusnock, the two other seniors on the team, Ceci Jenkins and Nadia DiNatale, are captains as well.
Rusnock explains that the divergent leadership styles have made WICE a “well-functioning team” in their 2023–2024 season. Elvekrog keeps the team in check from a business standpoint, while Jenkins has an outstanding hockey IQ that helps the team on the ice. DiNatale helps foster team camaraderie, and Rusnock is the supportive backbone of the team.
The next stop ahead for the club is in St. Louis, MO, where Villanova received an automatic bid to compete in the ACHA national tournament held from March 11 through March 16.
Witnessing the growth of the program from the days of COVID to clinching the first division championship, Rusnock touched on the teams’ resiliency.
“As a senior, I have seen the team grow from having about ten people on the roster during COVID, when we couldn’t have any games and were unsure about the future of the program,” Rusnock said. “Now, we are a team where our coach has to make a tough decision on a healthy scratch every game.”
Per Villanova’s attendance policy, club sports do not receive excused absences and that previously made it difficult for the team to garner a full roster. Moving onto the national tournament, the ‘Cats are ready to sacrifice missing a week full of classes to not only prove to their division, but also their league that they deserve the title.
“In the end, we play a club sport because we love the sport and we want to have fun,” Rusnock claimed. “What makes it so fun is playing with our best friends and that is crucial for our team to have success out in Missouri.”
