It’s not just Team USA celebrating a win in women’s hockey, some UNM students have their own victory.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s not just Team USA celebrating a win in women’s hockey; some UNM students have their own victory. They finished their first-ever season as a collegiate women’s hockey program.

The two women who started the squad of 13 say setting up the state’s first-ever collegiate women’s hockey program was a labor of love. With one season under their helmet, they are already seeing their work pay off, and opening the doors for many women for years to come.

“There’s no other hockey women like college hockey for girls here in New Mexico, there never has been. So one day, Kiki reached out to me and was like, “Hey, I want to do this. Like, I need another person. Like, will you help me? And I said, ” Sure,” said Mia Hollister, one of the co-founders.

Hollister and Kiki Langenwalter say growing up in New Mexico, they only had two options.

“I started playing for the New Mexico Ice Wolves, which is the co-ed technically, but it’s a boys team here in New Mexico. And then when you reach a certain age, it was about 16, they joined an all-boys league, and it’s just not productive to continue playing on that boys’ team,” said Langenwalter.

That put her dreams on thin ice; the cheapest college option close by didn’t have women’s hockey.

“Affordability is a big selling point of the school for us, too, and a reason why we wanted to do this because other schools are so expensive just to go and continue your passion, and we wanted to give girls the chance to do that without sacrificing the affordability,” said Langenwalter.

Only a year in, Hollister says they are already growing a fan base, “We have one little girl who comes to every single game, I think she’s like, eight, yeah, and she comes to every single game, and she knows all of our names.”

They are hoping to expand their team by hosting a recruitment camp in the spring. With the vision of a bigger team, they also have trips planned for next season.

Both girls say they are just happy they can open the doors for years to come.

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