Alex Jahncke | Legacy Managing Editor

This past Friday, the Lady Lions ice hockey team made a huge announcement. Starting next year, they will be a part of College Hockey America (CHL). This may not sound like big news, but it’s the start of a new direction for the program. While most LU teams are transitioning to the NCAA Division II, women’s hockey will be making the jump to Division I.

I’m really excited to see where this takes us. We will be joining many good schools: Mercyhurst College, Niagara University, Penn State University, Robert Morris College, and Syracuse University. With the addition of the Lady Lions, we will help the CHA become eligible to apply for an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.

It is going to be a real tough road, but in the long run, this is really going to pay off. When you look at it as a whole, it adds to our women’s ice hockey program’s credibility. We did so well in the NAIA that it was starting to get pointless to stay. It was nice to string the championships together, but these ladies were ready for bigger and better things.

It is incredible to see what Head Coach Vince O’Mara has done with this team, and how far he has brought them. Although this season is not going quite how they want, I have faith they will pull through. They just need to work out the kinks, and as soon as they do, things will be exciting.