Fresh off an NCAA championship appearance with the Colgate University Raiders women’s hockey team, Waterdown’s Lauren Wildfang has been forced to hang up her skates.
Colgate fell 2-1 in overtime to the top-ranked Clarkson Golden Knights in the national championship game March 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
The loss marked Wildfang’s final game, as the 22-year-old Wildfang was forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.
“Unfortunately I have to retire from hockey because I’ve had too many hip surgeries and they don’t seem to be working the way I want them to be,” she said. “So I’m going to retire from the game, but I would like to hopefully get a position being an assistant coach somewhere.”
The five-foot-four senior said she’s looking for positions now both in the United States and Canada.
“I’d like to stay in hockey,” said the education studies major, who noted she hopes to find a position in the next month.
She knew her career was coming to a close prior to the season.
“So every practice, every game … it was the last for me,” she said. “I think that’s something that pushed me — the fact that I knew at the end of this year, whenever we did come to the final game it was going to be the absolute last for me.
“I think it pushed me to be a better player and pushed me to get through some of the pain that I had to get through this season.”
Wildfang noted she’s had three hip surgeries and also had knee surgery in December.
“I’ve had my fair share and I think I need to have a couple more to fix the problem,” she added. “I have yet to even go into the training room to talk about my next step.
“I’m avoiding it as long as possible.”
While she had an idea that it was going to be a long shot to play professionally, Wildfang she learned the news about her hip just before the season.
“It was a little bit of a rough start, but I had so much support (at Colgate) that made it easy to get back on track and realize the bigger picture of it all.”
In 40 games this season, Wildfang notched six goals and 24 assists, giving her a total of 18 goals and 61 assists in 136 games with Colgate. As a result, she wraps up her career as the all-time leader scorer among defencemen with Colgate, something she said is a cool feeling.
“It’s fun to be part of the girls that have also broken the records in the past and keep pushing the record,” she said. “But I’m more excited about who’s going to break it next.
“I think we have some really good defencemen coming in and some really good talent — I’m excited to see how they push the pace and I’m really hoping that one of the beats me.”
“We could have won a national championship, which would have been really cool,” she said. “But that’s the cool thing about hockey, bounces go different ways and I think for us the bounces went the way we wanted them to go in the Wisconsin game.
“They didn’t fully go the way we wanted to in the Clarkson game,” she continued. “It’s a game of mistakes and they ended up capitalizing on one of ours — that’s just the ways it is.”
Wildfang said the team will learn from the loss and use it to get ready for next season.
“Overall, it was a really great experience and something that our program was waiting a really long time to do.”
While Colgate dropped the title game against Clarkson, Wildfang said team won in different areas.
“We came back to a school that was so supportive of us and so proud of us,” she said. “At the end of the day, we broke a lot of records this past season.”
Wildfang noted the Raiders came together as a team throughout the season, in a record setting season for the Colgate program.
She added Clarkson is a strong team and deserves a lot of credit.
“They played extremely hard and extremely well,” she said. “It just wasn’t our day to win — it wasn’t in the cards for us.”
To book their ticket in the championship game, Colgate defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 4-3 in double-overtime.
“We had talked about how good Wisconsin was and how deep their team also was,” she said. “I think the exciting thing was that we knew that they were going to come out hard.”
She noted the Badgers had been to the NCAA Frozen Four for the past five years — making the championship game four out of the past five.
“We knew we were going to get a really quality team — that was exciting for me to see that,” she said. “They played really well — they’re a really good team, a really hard team to play against.”
Looking back on the season, Wildfang said she’ll most remember her teammates.
“This is a pretty special year,” she said, noting in her freshman year the team only had seven wins, while this year Colgate compiled a record of 34-6-1. “The people that were along the way and the people that helped get us to where we were … in that final game.”
She noted the team felt an overwhelming amount of support on their run from their school, student body, alumni and families.
“I think that’s the thing that I’m going to remember most,” she said. “The whole package of everyone being there for our team.”
Looking back on her career as a whole, Wildfang said she couldn’t have achieved what she has without the support of her coaches, family and the staff at Colgate.
“It’s a testament to what they put into the program every day, just like the girls do,” she said. “It’s a pretty special group that I’m dearly missing already.
“So I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like in a couple weeks, a couple months, or even a year from now.”
Fresh off an NCAA championship appearance with the Colgate University Raiders women’s hockey team, Waterdown’s Lauren Wildfang has been forced to hang up her skates.
Colgate fell 2-1 in overtime to the top-ranked Clarkson Golden Knights in the national championship game March 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
The loss marked Wildfang’s final game, as the 22-year-old Wildfang was forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.
“Unfortunately I have to retire from hockey because I’ve had too many hip surgeries and they don’t seem to be working the way I want them to be,” she said. “So I’m going to retire from the game, but I would like to hopefully get a position being an assistant coach somewhere.”
The five-foot-four senior said she’s looking for positions now both in the United States and Canada.
“I’d like to stay in hockey,” said the education studies major, who noted she hopes to find a position in the next month.
She knew her career was coming to a close prior to the season.
“So every practice, every game … it was the last for me,” she said. “I think that’s something that pushed me — the fact that I knew at the end of this year, whenever we did come to the final game it was going to be the absolute last for me.
“I think it pushed me to be a better player and pushed me to get through some of the pain that I had to get through this season.”
Wildfang noted she’s had three hip surgeries and also had knee surgery in December.
“I’ve had my fair share and I think I need to have a couple more to fix the problem,” she added. “I have yet to even go into the training room to talk about my next step.
“I’m avoiding it as long as possible.”
While she had an idea that it was going to be a long shot to play professionally, Wildfang she learned the news about her hip just before the season.
“It was a little bit of a rough start, but I had so much support (at Colgate) that made it easy to get back on track and realize the bigger picture of it all.”
In 40 games this season, Wildfang notched six goals and 24 assists, giving her a total of 18 goals and 61 assists in 136 games with Colgate. As a result, she wraps up her career as the all-time leader scorer among defencemen with Colgate, something she said is a cool feeling.
“It’s fun to be part of the girls that have also broken the records in the past and keep pushing the record,” she said. “But I’m more excited about who’s going to break it next.
“I think we have some really good defencemen coming in and some really good talent — I’m excited to see how they push the pace and I’m really hoping that one of the beats me.”
“We could have won a national championship, which would have been really cool,” she said. “But that’s the cool thing about hockey, bounces go different ways and I think for us the bounces went the way we wanted them to go in the Wisconsin game.
“They didn’t fully go the way we wanted to in the Clarkson game,” she continued. “It’s a game of mistakes and they ended up capitalizing on one of ours — that’s just the ways it is.”
Wildfang said the team will learn from the loss and use it to get ready for next season.
“Overall, it was a really great experience and something that our program was waiting a really long time to do.”
While Colgate dropped the title game against Clarkson, Wildfang said team won in different areas.
“We came back to a school that was so supportive of us and so proud of us,” she said. “At the end of the day, we broke a lot of records this past season.”
Wildfang noted the Raiders came together as a team throughout the season, in a record setting season for the Colgate program.
She added Clarkson is a strong team and deserves a lot of credit.
“They played extremely hard and extremely well,” she said. “It just wasn’t our day to win — it wasn’t in the cards for us.”
To book their ticket in the championship game, Colgate defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 4-3 in double-overtime.
“We had talked about how good Wisconsin was and how deep their team also was,” she said. “I think the exciting thing was that we knew that they were going to come out hard.”
She noted the Badgers had been to the NCAA Frozen Four for the past five years — making the championship game four out of the past five.
“We knew we were going to get a really quality team — that was exciting for me to see that,” she said. “They played really well — they’re a really good team, a really hard team to play against.”
Looking back on the season, Wildfang said she’ll most remember her teammates.
“This is a pretty special year,” she said, noting in her freshman year the team only had seven wins, while this year Colgate compiled a record of 34-6-1. “The people that were along the way and the people that helped get us to where we were … in that final game.”
She noted the team felt an overwhelming amount of support on their run from their school, student body, alumni and families.
“I think that’s the thing that I’m going to remember most,” she said. “The whole package of everyone being there for our team.”
Looking back on her career as a whole, Wildfang said she couldn’t have achieved what she has without the support of her coaches, family and the staff at Colgate.
“It’s a testament to what they put into the program every day, just like the girls do,” she said. “It’s a pretty special group that I’m dearly missing already.
“So I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like in a couple weeks, a couple months, or even a year from now.”
Fresh off an NCAA championship appearance with the Colgate University Raiders women’s hockey team, Waterdown’s Lauren Wildfang has been forced to hang up her skates.
Colgate fell 2-1 in overtime to the top-ranked Clarkson Golden Knights in the national championship game March 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
The loss marked Wildfang’s final game, as the 22-year-old Wildfang was forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.
“Unfortunately I have to retire from hockey because I’ve had too many hip surgeries and they don’t seem to be working the way I want them to be,” she said. “So I’m going to retire from the game, but I would like to hopefully get a position being an assistant coach somewhere.”
The five-foot-four senior said she’s looking for positions now both in the United States and Canada.
“I’d like to stay in hockey,” said the education studies major, who noted she hopes to find a position in the next month.
She knew her career was coming to a close prior to the season.
“So every practice, every game … it was the last for me,” she said. “I think that’s something that pushed me — the fact that I knew at the end of this year, whenever we did come to the final game it was going to be the absolute last for me.
“I think it pushed me to be a better player and pushed me to get through some of the pain that I had to get through this season.”
Wildfang noted she’s had three hip surgeries and also had knee surgery in December.
“I’ve had my fair share and I think I need to have a couple more to fix the problem,” she added. “I have yet to even go into the training room to talk about my next step.
“I’m avoiding it as long as possible.”
While she had an idea that it was going to be a long shot to play professionally, Wildfang she learned the news about her hip just before the season.
“It was a little bit of a rough start, but I had so much support (at Colgate) that made it easy to get back on track and realize the bigger picture of it all.”
In 40 games this season, Wildfang notched six goals and 24 assists, giving her a total of 18 goals and 61 assists in 136 games with Colgate. As a result, she wraps up her career as the all-time leader scorer among defencemen with Colgate, something she said is a cool feeling.
“It’s fun to be part of the girls that have also broken the records in the past and keep pushing the record,” she said. “But I’m more excited about who’s going to break it next.
“I think we have some really good defencemen coming in and some really good talent — I’m excited to see how they push the pace and I’m really hoping that one of the beats me.”
“We could have won a national championship, which would have been really cool,” she said. “But that’s the cool thing about hockey, bounces go different ways and I think for us the bounces went the way we wanted them to go in the Wisconsin game.
“They didn’t fully go the way we wanted to in the Clarkson game,” she continued. “It’s a game of mistakes and they ended up capitalizing on one of ours — that’s just the ways it is.”
Wildfang said the team will learn from the loss and use it to get ready for next season.
“Overall, it was a really great experience and something that our program was waiting a really long time to do.”
While Colgate dropped the title game against Clarkson, Wildfang said team won in different areas.
“We came back to a school that was so supportive of us and so proud of us,” she said. “At the end of the day, we broke a lot of records this past season.”
Wildfang noted the Raiders came together as a team throughout the season, in a record setting season for the Colgate program.
She added Clarkson is a strong team and deserves a lot of credit.
“They played extremely hard and extremely well,” she said. “It just wasn’t our day to win — it wasn’t in the cards for us.”
To book their ticket in the championship game, Colgate defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 4-3 in double-overtime.
“We had talked about how good Wisconsin was and how deep their team also was,” she said. “I think the exciting thing was that we knew that they were going to come out hard.”
She noted the Badgers had been to the NCAA Frozen Four for the past five years — making the championship game four out of the past five.
“We knew we were going to get a really quality team — that was exciting for me to see that,” she said. “They played really well — they’re a really good team, a really hard team to play against.”
Looking back on the season, Wildfang said she’ll most remember her teammates.
“This is a pretty special year,” she said, noting in her freshman year the team only had seven wins, while this year Colgate compiled a record of 34-6-1. “The people that were along the way and the people that helped get us to where we were … in that final game.”
She noted the team felt an overwhelming amount of support on their run from their school, student body, alumni and families.
“I think that’s the thing that I’m going to remember most,” she said. “The whole package of everyone being there for our team.”
Looking back on her career as a whole, Wildfang said she couldn’t have achieved what she has without the support of her coaches, family and the staff at Colgate.
“It’s a testament to what they put into the program every day, just like the girls do,” she said. “It’s a pretty special group that I’m dearly missing already.
“So I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like in a couple weeks, a couple months, or even a year from now.”