Visitors to Oxford, Ohio quickly realize it is a college town. When those visitors add Goggin Ice Center to their travel itinerary, they realize the locale may even be a greater college hockey town.

With a NCAA D-1 men’s team, several ACHA teams, a plethora of intramural teams and a large fan base, it is clear students at Miami University enjoy and support hockey. Among those ACHA teams is a Women’s D-2 ACHA squad competing in the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA).

Miami also hosts a Women’s D-1 team, and D-2 assistant coach Julian DiPaolo noted the difference between the programs during a recent conversation.

“Maybe a slight skill increase, and you see a lot more individual efforts at the Division One level. A lot of teams we (D-2) play rely more on a team-based game. There is a lot more forecheck, bring the puck out, put something on net and everyone crash and put a rebound in as opposed to you might see more of the highlight reel goals that you would see on an “ESPN Top 10” at the D-1 level.”

“I think the D-1 level relies a more on that whereas at our level you see a lot more teams succeeding when they go five players working as a whole as opposed to one person standing out,” continued

DiPaolo, who is in his third season with the team.

The players on this Miami team have chosen to make a time and financial commitment to continue their ice hockey playing careers and DiPaolo believes the players’ history of playing and culture of the program are factors in the decision to make those commitments.

“I think the family and camaraderie aspect…some of the girls have been playing their entire lives and it’s part of who they are. They enjoy having that as a part of their lives. They don’t want to go on without it. I think that is the driving force.”

Miami’s regular season game schedule spans from September through February allowing for team members to create lifelong connections.

“It’s a family aspect,” explained DiPaolo. “They’ll have team dinners before games at home. When they’re on the bus they enjoy other’s company. I think that is welcoming to the new players and helps foster the growth of our program.”

“When I talk to parents that have been inquiring about the program or girls looking for where they are going to go to school, I can honestly tell them, ‘You’re stepping into a group that cares for each other, they have each other’s back, they like spending time with each other.’ That’s reassuring to incoming freshman as well as their families. This is going to be a nurturing environment.”

As Miami prepares for the upcoming semester portion of their schedule, DiPaolo offered an assessment of the season thus far.

“This year is our first year where we’ve had a mix of older and younger players. We have a handful of underclassmen, so it’s been a growing experience where they are learning to play the college game. It’s more physical, more competitive, faster.  It’s something we’ve enjoyed as coaches—watching the growth. There has been a 180 that we’ve been excited to see.”

Schaumburg, Illinois’ Delaney Burke, a first-year player, is one of those younger players exhibiting the upward trajectory DiPaolo mentioned.

“She’s really come into her own the past couple weeks of the season,” DiPaolo professed. “She’s arguably one of our most talented players and wasn’t really performing at a high level to start the season and then got her feet under her.”

DiPaolo described the forward line of Claire Wischhoff, Marissa Levreault and Ella Schum as Miami’s “go-to scoring line at five-on-five.”

“Wischhoff (Madison, Wisconsin) and Levreault (Portsmouth, Rhode Island) are both juniors and have taken Ella (sophomore, Littleton, Colorado) under their wing and helped catch her up to speed,” DiPaolo summarized.

From a goaltending perspective, the program’s roster includes more than one goaltender for the first time, according to DiPaolo.

The trio of netminders includes Scout Hofer (Junior, Cartwright, North Dakota), Elizabeth Culbertson (Beverly Hills, Michigan) and Josie Zimmerman (Freshman, Dundee, Ohio).

“All three of them have been supportive and pushed each other to be competitive,” DiPaolo said.

As students return to Oxford for the spring semester, it is assured you will find many of them at Goggin Ice Center exhibiting their support of the teams or lacing up their skates.

--- Follow Jim Smith on X (Formerly Twitter) @BlueLineNotes