Miami Women’s Hockey was founded in the spring of 2010. Senior Natalie Dillon, junior Jess Wood and first year student Liz Wardlow approached the university administration with a proposal for a women’s team. With Miami’s success in men’s hockey, an enthusiastic core group of student-athletes, and one of the top facilities in the country, the proposal was well-received and the program was born in September of the 2010/2011 school year. Goggin Ice Center Director Kevin Ackley landed Scott Hicks as head coach. Scott has a long history in hockey in the lower midwest as a player, referee, and coach. Assistant coaches Jim Stearns and Nolan Peduto were added to the staff in the fall of 2010.
The 2010-2011 season saw the Lady RedHawks play seven exhibition games finishing with a record of 1-6. More importantly, Miami Women’s Hockey established itself as a viable program in the eyes of the women’s hockey community. Miami applied for and received membership in the CCWHA in the summer of 2011 joining Michigan State, Ohio State, Robert Morris, Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, Grand Valley State, and Michigan in the premier college club league in the country.
2011-2012 marked Miami’s first full campaign. The RedHawks started fast notching victories over Buffalo, Colorado State, and a championship game win over Ohio State in the Buffalo Invitational Tournament in October – Miami’s first women’s hockey championship. Miami’s sixth place finish in the league and a national ranking of 13th clearly established the RedHawks as an up-and-coming program. In 2012-2013, Miami improved to 12-12-5-1 and a national ranking of 12th.
The 2013-2014 season saw Miami surge to the top of both the CCWHA and nation as the Lady RedHawks took the league regular season and playoff titles and capped that with their first ever ACHA National Championship. Miami finished the 2013-2014 campaign with an astounding 30-2-3 record and were ranked number one in both the coaches poll and computer rankings for the entire season.
The 2014-2015 season saw Miami start the season ranking #1 in the country and remained undefeated until mid January when they dropped an overtime game to Penn State. Miami entered the National tournament as the top ranked seed and looked to defend their national championship. Miami would get the opportunity as they faced off against Liberty University in the Title game only to come up short in a 4-1 defeat. Miami finished 29-3-2 on the season.
The 2015-2016 season saw Miami look to rebound off a tough finish to the previous season. The RedHawks started slow but as the calendar turned to 2016 they found their stride and road a hot streak into the CCWHA playoffs after capturing their 3rd straight CCWHA regular season title. Miami would stumble in the title game losing a 2-1 triple overtime defeat at the hands of Grand Valley State. Miami entered the National tournament as the #2 seed. Miami would turn things around and again would find themselves facing off against Grand Valley State, this time for the National Championship. Miami never led in this game and fought back from two 1 goal deficits to send the game to overtime. With 18:09 on the clock, Miami would find the back of the net and win their 2nd National Championship. The RedHawks finished their magical season at 25-4-1.
Miami entered the 2016-2017 campaign as the preseason #1 team in the country. A spot they would ride until they faltered at home against #2 Adrian college in mid November. Miami would only lose 5 games all year. The RedHawks would have an up and down year, struggling to find some consistancy. That is until playoffs began. Miami knocked off Robert Morris in the semi finals of the CCWHA tournament and then erased a 3-0 deficit with 10 minutes to play in the third period to beat Michigan state in quadruple overtime to capture it’s 3rd CCWHA tournament title in four years. Then win locked in Miami as the #3 ranked tournament seed for the National Tournament and paired them up with #6 Grand Valley state in the first round best of 3 series. Miami took care of business with a pair of 4-2 and 2-1 victories to move them into the National semi-finals. In the Semi-finals Miami would take out Adrian college 5-2 and set up a re-match of the 2015 National Championship game with Liberty University. Miami would flip the script on Liberty this time, taking out the flames 4-1 and winning their 3rd National Championship in 4 years. The RedHawks finished the season with a 23-5-2 record.