The Arizona Wildcats celebrate a key goal in the first period of their away game against Grand Canyon University on Sept. 28 at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix. (Photo by Noah Sasaki/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX — When Caitlin Hogan, a lifelong hockey player and Division I standout, saw that the University of Arizona was building a women’s hockey program, she reached out to offer her expertise to the burgeoning team in any way she could.
By the time Hogan contacted the school to extend her services, its national search for a hockey coach was already underway. But after Troy Vaughn, the director of campus recreation, and Chad Berman, the men’s ice hockey coach, met with Hogan, the hunt was over.
“She (Hogan), by far and away, rose to the top,” Vaughn said.
The university officially hired Hogan to coach the women’s hockey team in May 2023. At the time, Hogan, Vaughn and Berman thought they were building the original Wildcats women’s team but soon discovered that the 2024 Wildcats were descendants, not pioneers. From 1999 to 2007, the school had its first women’s hockey team, Wildcat Icers.
The 2024 Wildcats play in Division I of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, where they compete in the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League. The Wildcats take a 1-4 record into Sunday’s home game against the University of Utah.
The University of Arizona Icers, the school’s first ACHA D1 women’s hockey team. (Photo courtesy of Erin Dehmlow)
“I have girls from Canada, the East Coast, Minnesota, all coming down here,” Hogan said. “They now are the role models for any of these young girls in town because we haven’t had women’s ice hockey in Tucson in a very, very long time.”
After Hogan and Vaughn discovered the history of the Icers, they scheduled a Zoom call to meet with the alumni and learn more about the team’s origin. The coach recalled noticing the similarities between the experiences of the former and current teams.
The Icers managed their fundraising and generated support for their events. Hogan and her players are also in charge of fundraising and other team operations.
“It sparks this resurrection for us that originally participated,” Tamara Hefferon, the Icers former team president, said of the program’s revival.
In 1999, while the school hosted a club night at the recreation center, Hefferon and Erin Dehmlow, the former team vice president, came across a booth promoting the new women’s ice hockey team.
Coach Caitlin Hogan draws up a play with the team during the Arizona Wildcats’ home opener against Grand Canyon University on Sept. 26 at the Tucson Convention Center. (Photo courtesy of Chris Hook)
Ben Ladrido, the Icers founder and former coach, was one of the people promoting the program that night.
“Tami and I had no background in ice hockey, but he (Ladrido) said it wasn’t a requirement,” Dehmlow recalled.
“Not many young girls get into the sport unless they have a brother or cousin or somebody that plays,” Hogan said about the West Coast women’s hockey community.
While most teams operate with assistant coaches, Hogan will be the only Wildcats’ coach this season. The funds that would have been allocated to the assistant coaching staff will instead be used to help the team get off the ground.
“I never shy away from a challenge. But I think the biggest thing that drew me to this program was just how genuine everybody I met with was and how excited they were for the program,” Hogan said.
Hogan grew up in Minnesota, the hockey capital of the U.S. During her childhood, she played on an all-boys hockey team – her only option at the time – and later attended St. Cloud State University to play for the Huskies women’s hockey team.
The 5-foot-2 forward was an all-time point scorer for the program and finished her senior year with 16 goals and 27 assists. After graduating from St. Cloud, Hogan moved to California and began coaching the Anaheim Lady Ducks, the largest girl’s hockey program in the American West. She saw the opportunity with the Wildcats as a way to continue growing women’s hockey.
In her first season, Hogan wants to let her players adjust to her coaching to learn what style works and what could be improved. Toward the end of the season, Hogan noted that her players will better understand the best assistant coach hires to complement the team.
“It’s not just me making that decision. It’s the ladies who are going to be here for the next four years,” Hogan said.
The Wildcats team features players from across the globe, such as forward Essi Toivanen, who was born and raised in Hyvinkää, Finland. While the majority of the roster consists of players from the Midwest, Canada, and Europe, a few team members are local to the desert.
Coach Caitlin Hogan supports the Arizona Wildcats women’s hockey team from the bench in their home opener against Grand Canyon University on Sept. 26 at the Tucson Convention Center. (Photo courtesy of Chris Hook)
Wildcats defenseman Savannah Allen, who was born in Flagstaff and grew up playing hockey in the Grand Canyon State, has scored three goals and has one assist so far this season.
Arizona forward Leila Schultz is also part of the team’s inaugural class that Hogan recruited in 2023. Schultz moved from Okotoks, Alberta, a city in Western Canada, to Tucson, and quickly noticed that hockey in the Great White North vastly differs from hockey in the desert.
Schultz is accustomed to having access to multiple rinks to practice on and multiple hockey pro shops to purchase any needed equipment or sharpen her skates. Tucson, however, is home to only one hockey rink, which is shared between the men’s and women’s Wildcats teams and the community.
For hockey equipment needs, athletes must travel to Phoenix or order online. As for the skates, the men’s team offers their skate sharpeners to keep everyone’s blades in strong condition.
“It’s really amazing to me to see a place that has not a lot of hockey be able to have this opportunity,” Schultz said.
The cold Canadian rinks aren’t as chilly in Arizona, but all differences aside, Schultz was eager to make her move and play for the team.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of the growth and bringing women’s hockey back to Tucson,” Schultz said.
On Sept. 26, Icers alumni attended the team’s first game of the season against Grand Canyon University and dropped the ceremonial first puck to celebrate the new beginnings.
The Wildcats lost their home opener at the Mosaic Quarter Iceplex but rebounded against the Lopes, 5-4, in Phoenix on Sept. 28 for their first win of the season.
Arizona Wildcats defenseman Savannah Allen scores a goal during a 5-4 win against Grand Canyon University on Sept. 28. (Photo by Noah Sasaki/Cronkite News)
“You’re not going to remember the score of that one game, but you’re going to remember the way you felt and the friendships you made and the relationships you built,” Hefferon said about her advice to Hogan and the team.
The Wildcats were swept last Friday in North Dakota, where they lost two games against the Minot State University Beavers and one game to the University of Jamestown Jimmies.
Despite the setback, Vaughn noted that the Wildcats’ top priority is to continue building a culture around women’s hockey in the city.
“The wins are going to come in time, whether they come this year, whether they come next year,” Vaughn said.
