Many of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) schools developed club teams over the years, and eventually varsity hockey programs at the Division III level of the NCAA . Most of these varsity teams were established in the late 1990s. After Title IX gave equal access to women's sports, the MIAC, being one of the oldest conferences in the NCAA , finally had enough programs to offer women's ice hockey as a conference starting with the 1998–99 season. Six member programs began play at the time.[1]
History [ edit ] In the 1998–99 season, the conference held a postseason tournament named the Augsburg invitational. This served as the first unofficial MIAC Championship.
In the 1999–00 season, the official MIAC women's ice hockey tournament was established to determine the postseason conference champion. With two more schools joining the MIAC, the top four teams qualified, with the higher seed hosting a two-game aggregate. The winner, would advance to the AWCHA Division III ice hockey championship to play a best-of-three series for the national championship. This was prior to the NCAA sponsoring Division III women's ice hockey.
In the 2001–02 season, the NCAA established a Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship, of which the MIAC tournament champion received an automatic bid. The MIAC, now at ten teams, added a fifth team to their conference tournament. The new play-in game featured the 4th place team hosting the 5th place team, with the winner playing the #1 seed. The conference also eliminated the two-game aggregate model, moving towards a more traditional single-elimination style tournament. In the 2002 tournament, the semifinals and championship were held at a neutral site. The next season, in 2003, the entire tournament was held at a neutral site. From that point on, the MIAC tournament went back to the higher seed hosting through all rounds. This format stayed the same for years, with the only temporary adjustments coming because of the COVID-19 pandemic . After the 2020-21 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic, the 2021-22 tournament was modified so that all ten teams qualified for the conference tournament. This was done so to allow all players the chance to play additional games after a few COVID cancellations bled into the 2021–22 season. This gave the top six teams in the standings a bye in a traditional ten-team bracket with no reseeding.
For the 2022-23 season, it was announced that the women's tournament would return to the traditional five-team field.
Seed School Conference record 1 Augsburg 12–1–1 2 Saint Mary's 12–1–1 3 Gustavus Adolphus 11–3–0 4 Saint Benedict 6–7–1
Semifinals March 3–March 4 Championship March 10-March 11 1 Augsburg 3 7 10 4 Saint Benedict 0 1 1 1 Augsburg 4 2 6 3 Gustavus 1 1 2 2 Saint Mary's 2 1 3 3 Gustavus 3 1* 4
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 16–2–0 2 Saint Mary's 15–3–0 3 St. Thomas 12–5–1 4 St. Catherine 11–6–1
Semifinals February 23–24 Championship March 2–3 1 Gustavus 6 8 14 4 St. Catherine 0 2 2 1 Gustavus 4 1* 5 2 Saint Mary's 2 1 3 2 Saint Mary's 4 2 6 3 St. Thomas 1 0 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
[2]
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–0–1 2 Saint Mary's 15–2–1 3 St. Thomas 12–3–3 4 Concordia (MN) 11–6–1 5 Saint Benedict 9–9–0
Play-in February 26 Semifinals: held in Blaine, MN March 1 Championship: held in Blaine, MN March 2 1 Gustavus 6 4 Concordia (MN) 2 4 Concordia (MN) 7 5 Saint Benedict 4 1 Gustavus 1 2 Saint Mary's 2 2 Saint Mary's 5 3 St. Thomas 3
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 St. Thomas 14–2–2 2 Concordia (MN) 12–5–1 3 Gustavus Adolphus 11–4–3 4 Saint Mary's 10–4–4 5 Augsburg 10–6–2
Play-in: held in Woodbury, MN February 27 Semifinals: held in Woodbury, MN February 28 Championship: held in Woodbury, MN March 1 1 St. Thomas 1 4 Saint Mary's 0 4 Saint Mary's 2 5 Augsburg 1 1 St. Thomas 4 3 Gustavus 1 2 Concordia (MN) 2 3 Gustavus 3
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 St. Thomas 16–1–1 2 Gustavus Adolphus 16–2–0 3 St. Olaf 11–7–0 4 Saint Mary's 11–7–0 5 Augsburg 10–6–2
Play-in March 2 Semifinals March 4 Championship March 6 1 St. Thomas 6** 5 Augsburg 5 4 Saint Mary's 1 5 Augsburg 2 1 St. Thomas 2 2 Gustavus 3 2 Gustavus 7 3 St. Olaf 0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–1–0 2 St. Thomas 16–1–1 3 St. Olaf 13–4–1 4 Augsburg 10–7–1 5 Saint Mary's 7–8–3
Play-in March 1 Semifinals March 3 Championship March 5 1 Gustavus 5 4 Augsburg 1 4 Augsburg 3 5 Saint Mary's 1 1 Gustavus 3** 2 St. Thomas 2 2 St. Thomas 8 3 St. Olaf 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–0–1 2 St. Thomas 15–2–1 3 Bethel 10–7–1 4 St. Olaf 10–8–0 5 Saint Mary's 8–7–3
Play-in February 28 Semifinals March 2 Championship March 4 1 Gustavus 3 4 St. Olaf 1 4 St. Olaf 4 5 Saint Mary's 2 1 Gustavus 2* 2 St. Thomas 1 2 St. Thomas 2 3 Bethel 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–1–0 2 St. Olaf 12–5–1 3 St. Thomas 12–6–0 4 Hamline 10–6–2 5 Saint Mary's 9–7–2
Play-in February 27 Semifinals March 2 Championship March 4 1 Gustavus 4 4 Hamline 1 4 Hamline 4 5 Saint Mary's 2 1 Gustavus 3 3 St. Thomas 2 2 St. Olaf 2 3 St. Thomas 6
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 18–0–0 2 St. Thomas 14–4–0 3 Concordia (MN) 10–6–2 4 Hamline 8–7–3 5 Bethel 8–9–1
Play-in February 28 Semifinals March 1 Championship March 5 1 Gustavus 5 4 Hamline 0 4 Hamline 5 5 Bethel 2 1 Gustavus 1 2 St. Thomas 0 2 St. Thomas 4 3 Concordia (MN) 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 16–0–2 2 St. Thomas 14–2–2 3 Bethel 10–5–3 4 Concordia (MN) 7–7–4 5 St. Olaf 7–9–2
Play-in February 26 Semifinals February 28 Championship March 4 1 Gustavus 5 5 St. Olaf 0 4 Concordia (MN) 1 5 St. Olaf 2 1 Gustavus 3 2 St. Thomas 0 2 St. Thomas 3 3 Bethel 0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 14–3–1 2 St. Catherine 13–3–2 3 St. Thomas 12–4–2 4 Saint Mary's 9–7–2 5 St. Olaf 9–7–2
Play-in March 2 Semifinals March 4 Championship March 6 1 Gustavus 5 5 St. Olaf 0 4 Saint Mary's 1 5 St. Olaf 3 1 Gustavus 5 2 St. Catherine 1 2 St. Catherine 4 3 St. Thomas 3
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 14–2–2 2 St. Thomas 10–4–4 3 Bethel 11–5–2 4 St. Olaf 11–5–2 5 Concordia (MN) 8–6–4
Play-in March 1 Semifinals March 3 Championship March 5 1 Gustavus 5 5 Concordia (MN) 2 4 St. Olaf 3 5 Concordia (MN) 4* 1 Gustavus 3 3 Bethel 0 2 St. Thomas 2 3 Bethel 4
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 16–1–1 2 Concordia (MN) 10–3–5 3 St. Thomas 11–6–1 4 St. Olaf 9–7–2 5 Bethel 9–7–2
Play-in February 28 Semifinals March 1 Championship March 3 1 Gustavus 1* 5 Bethel 0 4 St. Olaf 4 5 Bethel 5* 1 Gustavus 4 2 Concordia (MN) 2 2 Concordia (MN) 4 3 St. Thomas 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 18–0–0 2 St. Thomas 13–4–1 3 Concordia (MN) 11–4–3 4 Bethel 11–5–2 5 St. Catherine 8–7–3
Play-in February 26 Semifinals February 28 Championship March 2 1 Gustavus 3 4 Bethel 2 4 Bethel 3 5 St. Catherine 2 1 Gustavus 4 3 Concordia (MN) 1 2 St. Thomas 1 3 Concordia (MN) 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 St. Thomas 14–2–2 2 Gustavus Adolphus 14–4–0 3 Bethel 13–5–0 4 Concordia (MN) 11–5–2 5 St. Catherine 8–9–1
Play-in February 28 Semifinals March 1 Championship March 8 1 St. Thomas 4* 4 Concordia (MN) 3 4 Concordia (MN) 2* 5 St. Catherine 1 1 St. Thomas 2 2 Gustavus 0 2 Gustavus 3 3 Bethel 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 15–2–1 2 St. Thomas 11–3–4 3 Concordia (MN) 9–6–3 4 Saint Mary's 9–7–2 5 Bethel 8–7–3
Play-in February 26 Semifinals February 28 Championship March 7 1 Gustavus 3 5 Bethel 6 4 Saint Mary's 1 5 Bethel 7 5 Bethel 2 2 St. Thomas 3 2 St. Thomas 3 3 Concordia (MN) 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 St. Thomas 12–4–2 2 Bethel 12–4–2 3 Augsburg 10–5–3 4 Concordia (MN) 11–7–0 5 Saint Mary's 9–7–2
Play-in February 25 Semifinals February 27 Championship March 5 1 St. Thomas 2 4 Concordia (MN) 1 4 Concordia (MN) 3 5 Saint Mary's 1 1 St. Thomas 2 2 Bethel 1 2 Bethel 1* 3 Augsburg 0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 13–2–3 2 Augsburg 14–4–0 3 Concordia (MN) 11–5–2 4 St. Thomas 9–5–4 5 Hamline 10–8–0
Play-in February 24 Semifinals February 25 Championship March 4 1 Gustavus 2 4 St. Thomas 3* 4 St. Thomas 6 5 Hamline 1 4 St. Thomas 3* 2 Augsburg 2 2 Augsburg 3 3 Concordia (MN) 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 13–2–3 2 Hamline 13–3–2 3 Augsburg 9–4–5 4 Concordia (MN) 6–7–5 5 Bethel 7–9–2
Play-in February 22 Semifinals February 24 Championship March 3 1 Gustavus 4 5 Bethel 0 4 Concordia (MN) 3 5 Bethel 4 1 Gustavus 1 2 Hamline 4 2 Hamline 4 3 Augsburg 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s), St. Thomas finished 2nd, ineligible for conference playoffs
Seed School Conference record 1 St. Thomas 15–1–1 2 Hamline 14–2–2 3 Augsburg 11–3–4 4 Gustavus Adolphus 11–3–4 5 Saint Mary's 6–8–4
Play-in February 21 Semifinals February 23 Championship March 2 1 St. Thomas 4 4 Gustavus 0 4 Gustavus 5 5 Saint Mary's 0 1 St. Thomas 2 2 Hamline 0 2 Hamline 6 3 Augsburg 1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 15–1–2 2 Hamline 14–1–3 3 Augsburg 15–3–0 4 St. Thomas 11–6–1 5 Saint Mary's 6–10–2
Play-in February 27 Semifinals February 29 Championship March 7 1 Gustavus 4 5 Saint Mary's 1 4 St. Thomas 1 5 Saint Mary's 4 1 Gustavus 3 3 Augsburg 0 2 Hamline 1 3 Augsburg 2*
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Seed School Conference record 1 Gustavus Adolphus 13–1–2 2 Hamline 11–5–0 3 Saint Mary's 9–5–2 4 St. Scholastica 8–5–2 5 Augsburg 8–6–2 6 Saint Benedict 6–7–1 7 Bethel 5–6–2 8 Concordia (MN) 5–10–1 9 St. Catherine 4–12–0 10 St. Olaf 3–15–0
First Round February 23 Quarterfinals February 26 Semifinals March 2 Final March 5 1 Gustavus 5 8 Concordia (MN) 1 8 Concordia (MN) 1 9 St. Catherine 0 1 Gustavus 5 4 St. Scholastica 0 4 St. Scholastica 6 5 Augsburg 3 1 Gustavus 6 2 Hamline 1 2 Hamline 8 7 Bethel 0 7 Bethel 3 10 St. Olaf 1 2 Hamline 4 3 Saint Mary's 2 3 Saint Mary's 5 6 Saint Benedict 3
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record Points 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–1–0 52 2 Augsburg 14–3–1 40 3 Saint Benedict 11–7–0 33 4 St. Olaf 10–7–1 30 5 Hamline 8–9–1 25
Play-in February 24 Semifinals February 25-26 Championship March 4 1 Gustavus 5 5 Hamline 1 4 St. Olaf 1 5 Hamline 2* 1 Gustavus 4 2 Augsburg 2 2 Augsburg 5 3 Saint Benedict 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Seed School Conference record Points 1 Gustavus Adolphus 17–1–0 52 2 Augsburg 15–3–0 42 3 Saint Mary's 12–4–2 38 4 Hamline 13–5–0 38 5 Bethel 8–9–1 26
Play-in February 21 Semifinals February 24 Championship March 2 1 Gustavus 2* 5 Bethel 1 4 Hamline 0 5 Bethel 1 1 Gustavus 2 3 Saint Mary's 0 2 Augsburg 1 3 Saint Mary's 2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Championships by school [ edit ] School Championships Title Years Conf. Tourn. Appearances Gustavus Adolphus 15 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 23 St. Thomas[a] 6 2003, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 19 Saint Mary's 1 2002 15 Augsburg 1 2000 12 Hamline 1 2018 9 Concordia (MN) 0 13 Bethel 0 12 St. Olaf 0 10 St. Catherine 0 5 Saint Benedict 0 4 St. Scholastica[a] 0 1
^ a b St. Thomas exited the MIAC in the 2021-22 school year and was replaced with St. Scholastica References [ edit ]