Jamestown, N.D. – The University of Jamestown women's hockey team is set to begin their 2026-27 season against Minot State University on Friday, September 25 at John L. Wilson Arena.   
 
The 2026-27 season will be Jamestown's fifth as a Division-I program and third under head coach Hannah Griffin. Last season, Griffin led the Jimmies to their first-ever ACHA National Tournament appearance as a Division-I program. Jamestown finished with a record of 7-21-1 and 5-15-1 in the WMCH.
 
The Team
 
For the forwards, Maddison Andrew highlights the returners with the Medicine Hat, Alberta native tallied 11 points (6G, 5A) in 2025-26. Andrew had a season-best two goals in a home game against Minot State University (11/15) while logging two more multi-point games later in the season.
 
Other forwards to poised for an increased role are Kiara Perrett who had four points (3G, 1A) as well as Lana Cipriano and Morgan Celley, both of whom notched two points in their action.
 
The roster will be a young one for UJ this upcoming season. New freshman forwards entering the fold will be Jorja Atkinson (Chilliwack, B.C.), Sailor Cowan (Carievale, Sask.), Presley Hodson (Lenore, Man.), Leah Klaassen (St. Jean Baptiste, Man.), Peyton Lehmann-Mullin (Bowsman, Man.), Emma Pollock (Neepawa, Man.), Logan Eisner (Saskatoon, Sask.), and Sami Riou (Regina, Sask.).  
 
For the defensemen, the Jimmies will be led by Mikaela Nimetz who last season had 11 points with one goal and 10 assists. Nimetz had two assists in a big 4-3 overtime win against No. 7 Arizona State University (10/27), then had a goal plus a helper against the University of Minnesota (12/6). In another game, Nimetz had two apples against Minot State (1/10) and then two assists again in the very next game vs. Indiana Tech (1/18).
 
Four other key defensemen are back in the Orange and Black in Mallory Docktor (5 points in 25-26), Chloe Gauthier (3 points), Lana Cipriano (2 points), and Paige Zimiga (2 points).
 
Freshman Devyn Moncur (Brandon, Man.) will join to Jimmies looking to make her look on the blue line this upcoming season.
 
Two sophomore goaltenders will be back for UJ. Maddie Sylvestre had a great freshman season, playing in 18 games with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. The Headingley, Manitoba native had one of her best games early in the season where she posted 36 saves on 38 shots faced against Midland (9/27). She got her first shutout with 18 saves in a 1-0 win over Lindenwood University (2/20), then had a career-best 38 saves against Minot State (2/27).
 
Britlyn Rasmussen made five appearances during her freshman tenure, posting a 3-1 overall record. The 5'5" goaltender from Minnesota had a shutout against Minnesota (2/1) and stopped a career-best 19 shots against Midland (2/13) a couple of weeks later. Rasmussen finished with a 1.52 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage.
 
The Jimmies 2026-27 roster will feature two additional goaltenders in addition to Sylvestre and Rasmussen. Adriana Bashnick (Balgonie, Sask.) and Olivia Bushy (Sherwood Park, Alta.) will look to defend the pipes as well as they enter their freshman seasons.
 
The Staff
 
Hannah Griffin will be back as the head coach for her third season. Griffin is an alumnus of Adrian College where she played for the Bulldogs and then spent six seasons as a coach there. Griffin had a stop at Midland University as an assistant before finally making her way to Jamestown beginning in 2024-25.  
 
Griffin saw several successes in her first year at the helm. Jamestown was in and out of the top 10 for the majority of the season, finishing as the No. 10 team in the country and earning an at-large bid to the ACHA National Tournament.
 
Jamestown had an early season road tie to No. 1 Midland (10/8) who eventually won the 2026 National Championship. A few weeks later, the Jimmies had a big 4-3 overtime victory against No. 7 Arizona State (10/27).
 
Perhaps the most impressive win in D-I program history came on November 23, when the Jimmies hosted No. 1 Liberty and took down the Flames 4-3 in overtime. Coming into the game, Liberty was on a 30-game winning streak dating back to winning the 2025 National Championship. UJ was behind 3-1 about halfway through the second period, but three unanswered goals, finished by a breakaway goal from Emma Durand 57 seconds into overtime sealed the huge upset.
 
Assisting Griffin for the second season is graduate assistant Keaton Cline.
 
The Schedule
 
The 2026-27 regular-season schedule for Jamestown will feature 10 home games and 11 away from home.  
 
A few weeks ago, UJ headed up north to Manitoba to play the Winnipeg Ice U18AAA team as well as the Rink Hockey Academy U18 Prep. The first two official games are part of a season-opening doubleheader against Minot State (9/25 & 9/26).
 
After this, Jamestown will head to Fremont, Neb. where they will play Midland (10/8) and then Adrian (10/9) in a neutral site battle.
 
The Jimmies will be back at home on Sunday, October 18 where they will play Sault College (10/18), a brand-new Division-I team.
 
After Sault College, Jamestown will not have another home game for another six weeks. The next week will consist of an exhibition at NCAA D-III Concordia Moorhead (10/23) followed by two road matches against Minot State (10/29 & 10/30).
 
The Jimmies will then play at Midland (11/5) followed by Arizona State University (11/6) in Fremont.
 
The week before American Thanksgiving, Jamestown will partake in the WMCH showcase where they will play three teams in the St. Louis area on three straight days. On the slate is Liberty (11/19), McKendree University (11/20), and Lindenwood (11/21).
 
To begin the month of December, the Jimmies are hosting Montana State University for two games (12/4 & 12/5).
 
Jamestown will not play again until well after the New Year where they will play a doubleheader at Minot State University (1/15 & 1/16).
 
To round out the regular season, UJ hosts five games at John L. Wilson Arena, including Midland for two (1/29 & 1/30), Lindenwood (2/11), and Midland for two more (2/19 & 2/20).
 
The WMCH Conference Tournament will be held at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo., taking place from February 25 to February 27.
 
Should the Jimmies qualify, the ACHA National Tournament will also be at the Centene Community Ice Center from March 17 to March 21.
 
For results, press releases, and all other season updates, be sure to visit jimmiepride.com to stay up to date on everything related to Jamestown ACHA Women's Hockey.