UWRF women's hockey: achieving two decades of success

“We have a winning culture, but we don’t talk about winning.” These were the words of Joe Cranston, the head coach of the women’s hockey team at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is the first and only head coach since the varsity program debuted in 1999. Over 25 seasons, the women’s hockey team has been one of the most consistent programs at the Division III level, with no losing records outside of their first year. After finishing 25-0 in the regular season this year, the Falcons went on to secure their fifth straight WIAC Tournament Championship. 

Cranston is the only coach who has seen the program’s entire history. However, the roster currently features three others who have been with the team for ten or more seasons. 

Assistant coach Jim Walsh has been with the team for 17 seasons. His specialty role is recruiting, organizing visits, and communicating with players and parents. He acts as a liaison between the program and potential recruits. He and Cranston attend many high school games during the season, looking for prospects. In addition, Walsh is a consistent participant during practices and game days. 

Amanda Ryder is in her tenth season coaching with the program, working primarily with the defensemen. She also oversees the team’s background operations when traveling for away games. As a student, Ryder played under Coach Cranston and Coach Walsh in addition to being on the varsity softball team. She was very passionate when looking back on her time playing at UWRF, which explains why she became an assistant coach so soon after graduating in 2013. 

Lastly is Jeremy Weiss, who is second in tenure to Coach Cranston, having been with the program for nineteen seasons. He is the team’s goalie coach. 

All four coaches are graduates of UWRF, all in different decades between the 1980s and 2010s. This season, they each got to experience something the team had never achieved before. 

On Feb. 17, the Falcons completed their first undefeated regular season in program history, going 25-0. UWRF was the #1 ranked team in Division III Women’s Hockey for over two months, based on the USCHO weekly poll. They went on to win the WIAC Tournament Championship, improving to 28-0 overall. 

The Falcon’s decades of success and journey to the top this season are not without humble beginnings. The team’s inaugural season was by far the worst in the program's history. 

Debut seasons typically want to be forgotten. A roster generally isn’t full of stardom, and first-year coaches haven’t previously worked with the team. Unfortunately, the story is no different for Cranston’s Falcons, as the team finished 3-15 during the 1999 season. Cranston sounded noticeably upset when recalling the year. He could only describe the season as ‘frustrating’ and ‘eye-opening.’ Without any recruits, the final roster had little talent.

“I basically took the club team that was here and then had to compete,” Cranston said. It was especially difficult because he had previously seen consistent success. Before coming to UWRF, he coached at the high school level in Somerset, Wisconsin. The boys’ hockey team saw multiple top-ten state-wide rankings during his time there. 

Following the first-year growing pains, the Falcons had the opportunity to rebuild. Cranston said only three or four players from the 1999 roster made the 2000 roster. This considerable change yielded immediate positives for the program. “I just had my own team here,” Cranston said. The Falcons went 19-7-1 during the season, setting the tone for the next two decades of women’s hockey on campus. 

The team had no losing records from the 2000-2007 seasons but were rarely at the top of the conference. The 2008 season and beyond is where the Falcons played themselves into history. Since then, they have finished at the top of their conference in 14 of the last 16 years. They haven’t had more than seven total losses in a season during that stretch. 

Maintaining consistency over so many roster changes means strict and effective preparation before and during the season. The team begins practicing in mid-Sept. and plays until mid-March. The coaches employ a high degree of conditioning to prepare players for constant in-season play. “I think we skate more than any team, probably in the country,” Cranston said. 

Conditioning becomes less of a focus as the season progresses; however, the dense training phase does not. Falcon practices are high-tempo and simulate fast-paced game environments. “Everything is about increasing the speed of our game,” Cranston said. 

As a result of the long season, players spend much of the school year together on the ice. Senior Defenseman Holly Eckers said, “Throughout my four years, my closest friends and teammates tend to be one and the same.” 

From late Oct. to mid-March, the competitive season is active, and the Falcons generally play one-to-two games per week. The team’s only extended break this season came between Dec. 14 and Jan. 4, when they had no matches. 

Since the Falcons commonly make the NCAA DIII national tournament, they must play their best late in the season. “The science of peaking your team in March, when you start in September, is really a difficult thing as a coach. That’s a long season,” Cranston said. The coaching staff understands this expectation and relies heavily on conditioning so players don’t peak early. 

The Falcons constantly prepare players for what’s next, and Cranston highlights the team’s ability to develop stars. He cited Maddie McCollins as the latest example. McCollins is a fifth-year forward who had numerous monumental performances during the 2022 season. In 29 games, she had 48 points. 28 were goals, and twenty were assists.

After the season, she was named the USCHO Player of the Year, an award given to the top-ranked player nationally. Cranston highlighted her unexpected breakout year: “Maddie McCollins wasn’t even an honorable mention in the conference for freshman, sophomore, or junior year. Right now, she’s the best hockey player in the country.” 

Over 25 seasons, the team has served as a model for UWRF athletics. The long-tenured coaching staff and determined rosters have kept the Falcons near the top of the league for over a decade. As the university continues to implement varsity programs and build a home for student-athletes, women’s hockey serves as the standard for establishing and maintaining success.