SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 4, 2025) – The Conference of New England (CNE) has announced the All-Conference teams and major awards for the 2024-2025 women's ice hockey season. Rachael Irving and Mabel Gerard earned the Goalie of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Both earned All-Conference selections, and Alexa Paoli joined them, being named to the All-Conference First Team. Emma Birmingham was named to the first CNE women's ice hockey Community Service Team.
Rachael Irving was named the CNE Goalie of the Year and to the All-CNE First Team after Irving's first year at WNE. In 16 games played, Irving only allowed 18 goals, earning a goals-against average of 1.24, placing Irving second in the CNE in that category. The Derryfield School graduate made 454 saves, placing Irving third in most saves in one season in WNE women's ice hockey history. Irving ended the season with a save percentage of .962, placing Irving first in the CNE for that stat category. Irving made 28.38 saves per game, putting the first-year goalie in third in the CNE for saves per game. Irving also led the CNE in shutouts with four, the second most in a season in WNE's women's ice hockey history. Irving shut out the opposing team in a quarter of the games Irving started for WNE. The Auburn, N.H. native had a shutout in Irving's first career start on the road versus UMass-Boston, when Irving led the team to a 1-0 victory. Irving only let up one power-play goal all season.
Mabel Gerard was named the conference Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-CNE Second Team. Gerard earned these awards after a season that saw Gerard lead the team with ten goals during the 2024-25 season. Gerard also picked up seven assists during the year to conclude the season with 17 points, which is tied for the second most points on the team. Gerard's ten goals helped the first-year forward finish the season, tied for fifth for goals in the CNE. Gerard ended the season with a goals-per-game percentage of .38, which also finished tied for fifth in the CNE. A .20 shot percentage saw Gerard tied for fifth in the CNE, second on the team at the conclusion of the year, and Gerard was also tied for fourth in the conference and first on the team when it came to game-winning goals, with three. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native ended the 2024-25 season with 239 faceoff wins, which was third in the CNE and first on WNE for most faceoff wins during the season, and had a .564 faceoff win percentage, which placed Gerard second on WNE and eighth in the CNE. The Sacred Heart School of Halifax graduate had three power-play goals, tied for fifth in the CNE. Gerard also ended the season leading the Golden Bears in +/- with a +7 on the season.
Alexa Paoli ends a fantastic Golden Bear career with an All-Conference First Team appearance. Paoli ended the season as the leader in assists and points for the Golden Bears women's ice hockey program. Paoli finished the season with 17 assists and 19 total points, with two goals scored. Paoli's two goals were scored on back-to-back days at home and on the road versus Johnson & Wales University. The 17 assists were the second-most in the CNE this season. Paoli had an assists per game average of 0.65, which placed Paoli third in the CNE. The graduate student was tied for sixth in the CNE when it came to total points and tied for ninth in points per game in the CNE. The Steamboat Springs, Colorado native blocked a team-high 37 shots this season, placing Paoli in the top ten in the CNE for blocked shots. Paoli was part of a WNE defense that helped secure six shutout victories. Paoli concludes the season with a +/- of +4, which is tied for the third-highest +/- on the team.
The newest part of the end-of-season awards in the CNE is the Community Service Team, which sees a student-athlete from each CNE member institution get selected. Emma Birmingham is the student-athlete selected as part of the CNE Community Service Team for women's ice hockey. Birmingham is heavily involved around WNE and has volunteered with the team's cub club and different committee work within the team.
