Five at the IX with Lindsay Berman — Latest women’s hockey headlines

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Five at the The IX: Northeastern assistant coach Lindsay Berman 

Lindsay Berman has been all over the hockey world in North America. From the professional ranks in the CWHL and NWHL/PHF as a player, to a head coach at the Division III level — and now back at her alma mater in an assistant coaching position for the Northeastern Division I program. Since 2018 she’s been behind the bench for the Huskies, primarily focusing on the defensive side of the team’s game. She has been instrumental to the development of multiple All-American defenders, and the penalty killing system she’s created has consistently been one of the top in the NCAA for years. 

This interview is being broken up into two parts. Here at The IX you’re getting an exclusive first look at my conversation with Coach Berman, and if you’re interested in reading more from the interview be sure to subscribe to TIG before the Q&A goes live.

The Ice Garden: Do you have a favorite arena in the NCAA either that you’ve played at or that you like coaching at the best?

Lindsay Berman: My favorite rink to play in was always Vermont — if it’s not Matthews [at Northeastern]. When I was [coaching] at Brown that one year, coaching at Cornell was really fun. That place was packed. It was loud, it was a cool building, the band was awesome. So yeah, I think coaching at Cornell, that was probably it. 

TIG: What are you looking forward to most from the NCAA this season? It doesn’t have to be Northeastern-specific, but is there a matchup you’re looking forward to? Is there a tournament that you think is going to be really cool? Anything like that?

LB: I would say just the addition of the new programs, and a couple of those new head coaches have already gotten their first win this early. So I think just the growth of our game at the NCAA level, and seeing those teams and how they progress. 

TIG: Do you have a matchup in particular that you’re most looking forward to for this season? 

LB: I don’t like to look ahead. I feel like Providence had our number last year so I’m looking forward to seeing them again. It’s always a great matchup with UConn, obviously having lost to them in the final … having just split with [Boston College], they’ve gotten better every year, they’ve got a great coaching staff. I’ve got I guess a couple games circled.

TIG: Who do you think is going to win the Walter Cup this year? 

LB: Oh, jeez that’s tough. I’m gonna go with Boston. And no offense to our other alums on the other teams, but I’m gonna go with the home team. And I hope that Gwyn [Philips] has a great year in Ottawa, obviously, and Katy [Knoll] and [Megan] Carter in Toronto, but I’m gonna go with Boston. 

TIG: Is there anywhere you’d like to see the PWHL and the NCAA expand to next? 

LB: I’d love to see the PWHL expand to D.C. — like in the area I grew up in — and I think the Caps have done an unreal job in building hockey down there and people love it, so I’d love to see that. I think it’ll help grow the game even more. 

NCAA, I think we have to add it in Michigan and Colorado. I think the market is there, we’re recruiting players from there every year, so it only makes sense to add there. 

You can read more of our interview with Lindsay Berman when it’s released next week. Be sure to subscribe to TIG in order to read the interview in full. 

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