USA Hockey announced today that Rochester, N.Y. has been selected as the host city for the 2001 American Women’s College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) Division III national championships on March 9-10.
The games will be held at the ESL Sports Center on the campus of Monroe Community College. The $14 million facility has four ice sheets, including a main rink that seats approximately 2,500.
The format will be a traditional “final four” arrangement with a third-place game.
“When we heard about the tournament, we contacted USA hockey and asked them to come and take a look at our centre,” said ESL manager Ray Maluta. “We had a site visit from USA hockey, and we were selected to host the event.
“It’s great for the community of Rochester, the ESL Centre, and women’s hockey in this area. We’re very, very excited to bring this event here.”
Middlebury is the defending champion, having won last year’s tournament in Boston. At that time, the Division III championships were held in conjunction with the Division I AWCHA tournament. The NCAA is sponsoring a Division I women’s championships for the first time this season, eliminating the need for a D-I AWCHA tournament.
Next year, the NCAA will also sponsor a Division III women’s championship tournament.
Tickets packages for all four games are $12 for adults and $8 for students. Single day passes are also available for $8 and $5. For tickets, call (716) 242-4625.
