Last weekend was a weekend of many
rsts for the Colonels: Wilkes recorded
its rst ever weekend sweep in women’s
ice hockey team history, as well as the rst
set of back-to-back wins and a 4-0 win
recording the rst time the team had won
a game by more than three goals.
All of these accomplishments fall under
a brand new coaching sta .
“I think that the sta has instilled
a mindset of professionalism for the
program,” said new head coach Dave
LaBa . “We aim to operate the hockey side
of our program based on a division one
lifestyle while still embracing the values
of division three in every other aspect. We
work to make sure the players believe in
themselves and that that will allow them to
grow in all aspects.”

LaBaff took over as head coach in June
of this year after previously coaching
SUNY Canton for the past seven years.
LaBaff holds a winning mentality with
four previous postseason appearances
with SUNY Canton.
Wilkes also added Caty Flagg as the
assistant coach. Flagg is the former 2016
ESPN “Miss Hockey,” 2016 Boston Globe
Player of the Year and the New England
Hockey Conference (NEHC) 2017-18
and 2018-19 Goalie of the Year, to name
a few accolades.

This was an essential change after
the Colonels had gone 8-58-2 over the
course of four seasons under the previous
coaching staff.
The women’s ice hockey team sits at 2-4
with two conference wins, two conference
losses and two out-of-conference losses.
The Colonels began their regular
season United Collegiate Hockey

Conference (UCHC) play with back-to-
back weekend games against Neumann

University.
Wilkes won 2-1 on Nov. 4 with both
goals netted by junior forward Bella
Kaczorowski.
The team won 4-0 on Nov. 5 where

Kaczoroski netted two more goals for the
Colonels and ended up with 4 points on
the weekend.
Addy Olson, junior goaltender, played
both games in goal for Wilkes. Olson
stopped 34 shots faced and posted her
first career shutout.
Olson was named goaltender of the
week by the UCHC for the week of Oct.
31 to Nov. 6.
“It was very rewarding and I wouldn’t
have been able to do it without the team I
had in front of me,” said Olson.
With the coaching staff, the team
has also experienced a major change in
attitude. Wilkes has bonded much more

this season than ever before.
Senior defender Abigail Barcless
has been a part of the team since her
first collegiate year during the 2019-20
season. Barcless is now in her final season
playing for the Colonels.
“We have proved to ourselves that with
the right systems and chemistry, we have
the chance to be a very successful team
this season,” said Barcless. “I think that’s
the backbone of what keeps us getting
up at 4:50 every morning with positive
energy.”
Wilkes will return to the ice on Nov.
30 as they travel across town to King’s
College.