BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2025-26 season has arrived for Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's hockey teams.
The regular season is set to begin on Friday, October 31, with nine non-conference contests. The first conference contests of the season are scheduled for Friday, November 14, with the regular season set to run through Saturday, February 21. Teams are scheduled for 18 conference contests with two games against every MIAC opponent.
The top five teams at the end of the regular season will head to the 2026 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs. The quarterfinal round is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, with the semifinals set for Saturday, February 28, and the championship game slated for Saturday, March 7. The winner of the MIAC Playoffs will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Championships.
2024-25 FINAL STANDINGS
Augsburg*#% (24-4-1, 16-2-0)
Gustavus% (21-7-0, 15-3-0)
Hamline (16-10-0, 11-7-0)
Saint Mary's (16-11-0, 10-8-0)
St. Olaf (12-13-1, 9-8-1)
Saint Benedict (12-10-3, 9-8-1)
Concordia (7-18-0, 9-8-1)
Bethel (11-13-1, 6-12-0)
St. Scholastica (5-19-1, 3-14-1)
St. Catherine (5-18-2, 3-14-1)
*MIAC Regular Season Champion
#MIAC Playoff Champion
%NCAA Championship Participant
RULE CHANGES
Though 2025-26 is an "off year" for rule changes, the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Committee established a handful of adjustments to the rule changes made ahead of the 2024-25 season. One such adjustment was to make game misconduct penalties eligible for appellate review by the NCAA secretary-rules editor and national coordinator of officials. This matches the process implemented last year, which allows conferences to appeal game disqualification penalties in the spirit of fairness to student-athletes. The Committee also clarified the "high-sticking the puck" rule to separate the scoring of a goal from all other plays.
MIAC SPORTS NETWORK
The MIAC Sports Network, powered by Hudl, returns as the streaming home of all MIAC-hosted games, events, and championships. The MIAC Sports Network is available on the web (https://miacsportsnetwork.com/) along with streaming apps for television and mobile devices, including Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku (TV), iOS, Android (mobile), and Amazon Fire Tablet. The app can be found and installed free of charge by searching for the MIAC Sports Network.
The 2026 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each, or $25 for a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the NCAA Tournament concludes.
MIAC APP
The MIAC mobile app remains free to fans and can be downloaded on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android devices. The app includes news, standings, and links to follow scores and stats in real-time.
AWARD WATCH
MIAC coaches will vote on the 2025-26 MIAC Women's Hockey All-Conference honors after the regular season. In addition to a 20-player All-MIAC squad, coaches will also vote on individual awards for the MIAC Offensive, Defensive, Rookie, and Coach of the Year.
Throughout the regular season, the MIAC will recognize top individual performances with the MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week awards. Athlete of the Week awards will begin on Monday, November 3, and be announced each Monday following through the end of the regular season. During the week following the MIAC Playoffs, participating coaches will also select a 10-player All-Playoff Team to recognize outstanding performances throughout the conference tournament.