The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is celebrating its 25th season of women’s hockey competition in 2023-24 and as part of this year-long salute to the rich history of the league, the WCHA announced its third group of five members of the conference’s 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team on Wednesday, Dec. 13.
This month’s group Top 25 Team members include the University of Wisconsin’s Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight, Ohio State University’s Natalie Spooner and Jocelyne Lamoreux-Davidson and Monique Lamoreux-Morando, who played at the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota. The WCHA will continue to announce its Top 25 team throughout the season with five new members introduced each month through February.
The WCHA 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team was chosen by a selection committee comprised of former players, coaches and league officials along with input from a recently conducted WCHA fan poll. The following is a rundown of this month’s five team members’ career highlights and impact on the WCHA.
December's WCHA 25th Anniversary TOP 25 Team Honorees:
Meghan Duggan
MEGHAN DUGGAN
Years Played in the WCHA: 2006-11
School: University of Wisconsin
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: A four-time All-WCHA selection during her collegiate career, Meghan Duggan was an impact player for the University of Wisconsin Badgers from 2006-11. The 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, Duggan was the WCHA scoring champion that season with 61 points (27g/34a). She was selected as the WCHA’s Player of the Year in 2010-11 and helped Wisconsin win an NCAA championship along with WCHA regular season and WCHA Final Faceoff titles that winter. In Duggan’s time as a student-athlete in the WCHA, Wisconsin also won NCAA titles in 2009 and 2007 along with WCHA regular season crowns in 2007 and the 2007 and 2009 WCHA Final Faceoff titles.
A native of Danvers, Mass., Duggan finished her collegiate career with 108 goals, 130 assists and 238 points - all of which among the top 15 in the league records.
In international play, Duggan skated for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in 2010 (Silver), 2014 (Silver) and 2018 (Gold). She also played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. She has seved as a team captain for Team USA and was also part of the ESPN Humanitarian Team of the Year in 2018.
After her graduation from Wisconsin, Duggan played profesional hockey for the Boston Blades in the CWHL, the Buffalo Beauts in the NWHL and the Boston Pride in the NWHL. She served as an assistant coach at Clarkson University from 2014-16 and has been a Director of Player Development with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2021.
Hilary Knight
HILARY KNIGHT
Years Played in the WCHA: 2007-12
School: University of Wisconsin
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: The all-time leading goal scorer in the history of the WCHA, Hilary Knight completed her college career at the University of Wisconsin with 143 goals, 119 assists and 262 points. Her 47 goals scored during the 2010-11 season ranks second in the WCHA recordbook and her five goals scored in a game against Quinnipiac on Sept. 27, 2008 also ranks second for most goals in a game in the WCHA records.
A member of the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2007-08, Knight went on to gain All-America First Team and All-WCHA First Team honors three times during her career along with being selected as a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist in 2009, 2011 and 2012. She was selected the WCHA Player of the Year in 2008-09. Knight helped lead Wisconsin to NCAA championships in 2009 and 2011 along with WCHA regular season titles in 2011 and 2012 and WCHA Final Faceoff titles in 2009 and 2011.
Knight was born in Hanover, N.H. and has played for Team USA at the Winter Olympics. She won silver medals at the Winter Olympics with Team USA in 2010, 2014 and 2022 and won the gold medal with Team USA in 2018. Knight has played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. She has helped Team USA win nine IIHF World Championships and has scored over 100 points in World Championship play.
As a professional hockey player, Knight has played for the Boston Blades and Montreal Canadiennes of the CWHL, the Boston Pride of the NWHL along with stops with the Montreal, Minnesota and Team Sonnet PWHPA teams. In 2023-24, Knight is schedled to play for Boston in the PWHL.
Jocelyne Lamoreux-Davidson
JOCELYNE LAMOREUX-DAVIDSON
Years Played in the WCHA: 2008-13
School: University of Minnesota (2008-09) & U. of North Dakota (2009-13)
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: In her first season of play iin the WCHA, Jocelyne Lamoreux-Davidson made an immediate impact as she gained All-WCHA First Team and WCHA All-Rookie Team honors while scoring 28 goals, 37 assists and 65 points at the University of Minnesota. She continued her sterling college career at the University of North Dakota and went on the earn All-WCHA honors three times at UND.
At North Dakota, Lamoreux-Davidson scored 97 goals, 123 assists and 220 points. She earned All-America honors in 2012 and 2013 and was selected as the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete award recipient in both of those years. In 2012, Lamoreux-Davidson was named a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top three finalist and she was selected as a top 10 finalist for the award in 2013. Her college resume also includes winning the WCHA scoring title in 2011-12 as she scored 34g/48a that season.
In her combined college career at UM and UND, Lamoreux-Davidson ranks third in the WCHA records with 125 career goals, fourth with 160 career assiists and third with 285 career points.
At the Winter Olympics, Lamoreux-Davidson helped Team USA win silver medals in 2010 and 2014 along with a gold medal in 2018. She also played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Lamoreux-Davidson is a native of Grand Forks, N.D.
Monique Lamoreux-Morando
MONIQUE LAMOREUX-MORANDO
Years Played in the WCHA: 2008-13
School: University of Minnesota (2008-09) & U. of North Dakota (2009-13)
Position: Forward/Defense
Career Highlights: Monique Lamoreux-Morando began her college career at the University of Minnesota and enjoyed a strong first year with the Gophers. She was named the WCHA’s Outstanding Rookie of the Year along with being selected to the 2008-08 WCHA All-Rookie Team, All-WCHA First Team and All-America Second Team. A Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist as a rookie, Lamoreux-Morando scored 39 goals and 36 assists in 2008-09.
A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Lamoreux-Morando returned home the following season to play for the University of North Dakota, where she was a standout player for the next three seasons. She earned All-WCHA honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013 along with All-America status in 2012 and 2013. At UND, Lamoreux-Morando was named a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist again in 2012.
In the all-time WCHA records, Lamoreux-Morando ranks eighth with 113 career goals, fifth with 152 career assists and fifth with 265 career points. Of note, Lamoreux-Morando played as both a forward and defender during her career.
In international play, Lamoreux-Morando played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. At the Winter Olympics, she was on the Team USA roster that won silver medals in 2010 and 2014 along with a gold medal with Team USA at the 2018 Olympics. She also played professional hockey in the CWHL and the PWHPA.
Natalie Spooner
NATALIE SPOONER
Years Played in the WCHA: 2008-12
School: Ohio State University
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: A Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist and All-America selection during the 2011-12 season, Natalie Spooner finished her collegiate career as a forward at Ohio State University with 100 goals, 63 assists and 163 points from 2008-12. A native of Scarborough, Ontario, Spooner finished her senior season at OSU with 31 goals, 19 assists and 50 points and her 100 career goals ranks 15th in the WCHA records.
Upon graduation from Ohio State, Spooner went on to play professional hockey from 2013 to 2019 with the Toronto Furies of the CWHL and went on to play in th PWHPA from 2020 to 2023. She is currently on the roster of the PWHL affiliate in Toronto for the upcoming 2024 inaugural season.
Spooner has played for the Canadian National Team at the IIHF World Championships in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. She also helped Canada win gold medals at the 2014 and 2022 and a silver medal in 2018 Winter Olympics in ice hockey.
ABOUT THE WCHA:
Founded in 1999, the women’s league of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has positioned itself as the top conference in all of women’s collegiate hockey and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023-24. The WCHA has won an unprecedented 20 national championships while finishing as the national runner-up nine times since 1999. The league has produced nine Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners as well an additional 24 student-athletes who were among the Top-3 finalists for the award. In addition, WCHA student-athletes have been recognized as All-Americans 121 times in league history.
WCHA 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team
October:
Molly Engstrom, Wisconsin (2001-05)
Caroline Ouellette, UMD (2002-05)
Jenny Schmidgall-Potter, UMD (1999-04)
Maria Rooth, UMD (1999-03)
Krissy Wendell, Minnesota (2002-05)
November:
Sara Bauer, Wisconsin (2003-07)
Tessa Bonhomme, OSU (2004-08)
Natalie Darwitz, Minnesota (2002-05)
Kim Martin Hasson, UMD (2006-11)
Jessie Vetter, Wisconsin (2005-09)
December:
Meghan Duggan, Wisconsin (2006-11)
Hilary Knight, Wisconsin (2007-12)
Jocelyne Lamoreux-Davidson, North Dakota & Minnesota (2008-13)
Monique Lamoreux-Morando North Dakota & Minnesota (2008-13)
Natalie Spooner, Ohio State (2008-12)