Aiden Konold ’26
Chief Sports Editor
Just a year removed from a 10-20-4 season, Holy Cross Women’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Katie Lachapelle earned 2026 Hockey East Coach of the Year honors. The 2025-26 season saw a nine-win improvement from the 2024-25 campaign, and included a Hockey East era record 10 conference wins.
During the regular season, the Crusaders ranked as high as 13th in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) national poll in both the January 26th-February 2nd rankings, which marked the Holy Cross women’s ice hockey team’s highest national ranking as a Division I team.
Though Holy Cross dropped its last seven regular season matchups of the season, including two overtime losses and a pair of shootout losses, they finished the regular season with an 18-12-3 record and defeated the University of New Hampshire Wildcats at the Hart Center in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East playoffs. With the 5-4 win over the Wildcats, the Crusaders advanced to the semifinals of the Hockey East playoffs for the first time in program history.
Over the course of the last seven seasons, Coach Lachapelle has been responsible for transitioning the women’s ice hockey program from Division III to the Hockey East, the upper echelon of Division I ice hockey.
Though the Crusaders ultimately fell, 1-6, to the UConn Huskies in this year’s Hockey East semifinals, the 2025-26 season marked Lachapelle’s best as the program’s head coach.
In addition to 10 Hockey East wins, the 2025-26 season also included a Hockey East era record 37 points, four weeks spent in the USCHO national poll, 19 overall wins which is the fifth-most in program history, and a goals-against average of 1.84, which ranked eighth in the country in scoring defense.
In the 2018-19 season, Holy Cross’ first as a member of Hockey East, the team went 1-29-3 under former head coach Peter Van Busick. He attained tremendous success as a member of the ECAC and the NEHC in Division III, including four 20+ wins and an ECAC East Open Championship in 2009, but the transition to Division I proved to be too much.
Lachapelle served as Coach Van Busick’s associate head coach for two seasons before taking over the reins when he retired. In her first three seasons as head coach, Lachapelle won 12 games, including a 3-30 overall and 1-26 conference record in 2021-22.
But over the course of the last four seasons, Lachapelle’s squads have amassed 44 wins. Starting with the 2022-23 season, Lachapelle has gone on to increase her win total each subsequent season.
Lachapelle’s success can be credited to her patience, knack for recruiting, and particularly close attention to the defensive side of the game. This season, the Crusaders finished fourth in the Hockey East standings, and finished first with 352 blocked shots in addition to allowing the third-fewest goals in league play.
Senior goalie and assistant captain Brooke Loranger went 7-3-1 in net this season, and recorded two shutouts. She maintained a goals-against average of 1.72, and a .934 save percentage.
Senior Abby Hornung went 12-10-2 in net, and totaled three shutouts. Hornung averaged 1.88 goals-against, and finished the season with a .933 save percentage.
Both Loranger and Hornung had 40+ save games this season.
According to Hockey East’s press release regarding Coach Lachapelle’s honor, her squad maintained the third-best save percentage in Hockey East, while also finishing the season with the third-best penalty kill unit. On faceoffs, Holy Cross won 645 draws.
Hornung was named to the Hockey East All-Star Third Team, while Freshman forward Violet Carroll earned Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team honors. Carroll scored 10 goals and added 16 assists in 35 games played.
She led the team in scoring this season with 26 total points, which set a Crusader record in the Hockey East era. In the Hockey East semifinals, Carroll scored the Crusaders’ lone goal.
The Crusaders will graduate six seniors in May, including Taylor Cantelon, Hornung, Lane Lewis, Loranger, Alexia Moreau, and Charlotte Sonntag.
But the future looks bright for the Crusaders, who look to return 19 players, barring any transfers. These returners will likely include Carroll, Olympic bronze medalist Naemi Herzig, captain Emily Crovo, and assistant captain Reghan Chadwick.
This fall, incoming freshman and 2026 Italian Olympian Manuela Heidenberger will suit up for the Crusaders.
With Lachapelle, the 2026 Hockey East Coach of the Year, at the helm, the Crusaders look to build on their successes in 2026-27 and make an even deeper run in next season’s playoffs.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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