Nearly five years ago, with a class of 20 incoming freshmen, newly hired Head Coach Rick Seeley was faced with the challenging task of building a women’s hockey program from scratch, something with which he was familiar. Seeley, hired in the fall of 2002, was named the head coach to recreate women’s hockey as a varsity athletic program at Clarkson University after an almost two-decade hiatus. He previously constructed the Manhattanville College women’s hockey program from the ground up. In his three seasons with the Valiants, Seeley led Manhattanville to a 54-16-4 record, a measure of success by any coach’s standards.

“You want to get as many hardworking, committed kids as you can, with good character,” said Seeley. “Otherwise it stunts the growth of the program.”

Despite several of the players being recruited by other schools with highly-regarded, established programs, some saw the challenge of starting a program more appealing than joining a team that had already reached success.

“I thought it was going to be an interesting challenge,” said three-year captain Lindsay Williams, “to try and start at a new program and develop something, to make history.”

A program that has seen its winning percentage fluctuate over the course of four years of existence, Clarkson’s women’s hockey program began with a solid 16-12-3 (.565) season. Although their inaugural schedule was scattered with Division III teams, the Knights did defeat notable Division I foes such as Colgate, Wayne State, and Niagara, a team that had reached the NCAA Frozen Four less than 18 months before the Knights skated in their first practice. Clarkson started the season with a road loss to the Purple Eagles of Niagara, but followed up the next night with their first-ever victory, a 2-1 affair.

“The first year was a huge stepping stone for the program in being able to establish that we could compete at this level,” said goalie Kira Hurley. “The first win over Niagara was incredible and opened the door for our confidence in the rest of the season.”

Freshman Ashley Shaidle led the first-year players with 32 points on the season, including 16 goals. Williams, an assistant captain that season, was not far behind, registering 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists.

“I was looking for great leaders to start,” reflected Seeley. “Lindsay Williams is the best captain that I’ve ever been associated with, male, female, playing with, or coaching.”

Following their initial success, the Knights embarked on a tougher, second season that saw increased competition and a resulting 13-17-5 (.444) record.

“To be only four games under .500 the second year was satisfying,” stated Seeley, “because that was basically as good as the schedule was going to get.”

As a new member of the ECACHL, Clarkson defeated swept Niagara while pushing sixth-ranked St. Lawrence in a 3-2 loss, followed by a 1-1 tie the next night. Shaidle again led her class in scoring, this time with just 17 points as incoming freshmen carried part of the offensive load.

“I don’t like to be shown as a scorer,” said Shaidle. “I just try to help out my team as much as possible.”

The 2005-2006 season saw the Knights reach the national ranks, climbing as high as eighth in the polls, a position they held three times throughout the season. Whether or not it was due to the fact that it was an “Olympic Year,” with some of the top players absent from their teams, Clarkson women's hockey made its mark that season at 22-14-1.

“The seniors are responsible for putting Clarkson on the map, in terms of the top half of Division I, at a much quicker rate than most programs,” said Assistant Coach Shannon Smith, who played four years of women’s hockey at St. Lawrence, including a Frozen Four appearance.

Shaidle emerged as the team’s leading scorer with 31 points while classmates Christine Bailkowski and Williams pitched in with 14 apiece. Bailkowski, who had served as a top-performer for the Knights at whatever position she was needed in her first two seasons, was back at her more accustomed position on offense and her production was vital in the Knights’ five victories over ranked opponents in 2005-06, including a 2-0 win over top-ranked St. Lawrence.

“Bailky is like the energizer bunny for us,” stated Seeley. “(Because) she’s in exceptional condition, she was someone we could turn to. (She would get a) 30-second break and she’d be right out there doing it. She did everything for us: penalty-kill, power-play, regular shift. That kind of consistency and hard work is going to be missed.”

Another player to be missed will be Hurley, who logged a record of 21-12-1 in her standout junior season, including a NCAA-leading ten shutouts. With her outstanding play, the goalkeeper from Pickering, Ontario garnered ECACHL Goaltender of the Year and All-America honors.

“Last year everything kind of came together for us,” reflected Seeley, “That was the kind of year that, regardless of what stage your program’s at, you relish and you don’t forget very easily.”

During the 2006-2007 season, Clarkson took a step back in terms of their record from the previous year—one that would have been hard to match for any team.

“I think women’s hockey has changed a lot; there are a lot more girls playing, all of the teams are better,” stated Smith. “Now it’s a lot harder to make it [in the playoffs].”

As seniors, forwards Shaidle and Bailkowski recorded 18 and 16 points on the season, respectively. Hurley, meanwhile, struggled through a tough year.

“This season was definitely the hardest one of them all for me,” said Hurley. “I was coming off of shoulder surgery and then faced some concussion troubles. I didn’t feel like I was my usual self on the ice and this depleted my confidence.”

Hurley attributed the team’s continued success despite her absences to her team’s resiliency.

“(The) team battled through my inconsistencies and showed up every game,” stated Hurley, “Stephanie [Hansen] really stepped it up and played amazing in goal. Even though it was a tough year for me, (the) team prevailed and showed their never-ending determination and persistence.”  

In addition to the always increasing competition, Seeley had to battle a common trend that he’s seen in his engineering of programs.

“The fourth year of a program becomes difficult no matter where you are,” commented Seeley. “That senior year is a tough one, because you’re not contributing as much. All of a sudden you’re getting resumes ready and the real world is about to start.”

With an 18-15-3 mark overall and a 10-10-2 conference record, good for sixth in the ECACHL, the Knights met St. Lawrence in a first-round match up at Appleton Arena. Following two tough losses to their arch-rivals, it was a bittersweet ending for the original incoming class of the Clarkson women's hockey program.

“Their last playoff games against St. Lawrence was probably the best our team has ever played,” reflected Smith, “Although we didn’t win (3-2 and 3-1 losses to the Saints, an eventual Frozen Four participant), I think it proved that we can play with the best teams in the country.”

Although the ride is over, the bonds created between the twelve women that helped start Clarkson women’s hockey will last a lifetime.

“The twelve of us are pretty much all best friends,” said Bailkowski. “I don’t think there will ever be any friends that are as good as them. We’ve been through so much together, through the four years, that there’s just no bond that I’ll have with someone else like that.”

As the first full class to graduate from the program, the twelve players have helped write the first four chapters of history in the sequel for women's hockey at Clarkson University, as well as an important segment in their lives.