The Hamline women's hockey team is starting the 2019-20 season where it left off last March. Head coach Natalie Darwitz's team is No. 2 in the annual USCHO.com preseason poll. The Pipers are coming off a 23-4-3 season that saw them become the first MIAC team ever to advance to the NCAA D-III Championship Game. HU defeated St. Thomas, 3-0, on the latter's rink to advance to the finals where they were felled by Plattsburgh State, 4-0. Accordingly, PSU starts No. 1 with Hamline next in line in the poll. 

The 2019-20 Pipers will get a test right out of the gate November 1 when they travel to No. 3 Adrian on Friday, November 1. The Bulldogs were 24-5-2 last season. They lost to Plattsburgh, 4-1, in the other D-III semifinal game. Adrian bounced back the next day to defeat St. Thomas, 1-0, to finish in third place. 

The Pipers return four of the top five scorers from last season. The cast is led by Bre Simon, who was the Laura Hurd recipient  and the USCHO.com Player of the Year as the top D-III women's player in the country last season. Simon finished with 27 goals and 37 assists last year. She is already the school's all-time scorer with 75 goals and 72 assists. Molly Garin (19 goals) and Jordan Hansen (12) are also back to aid the offense. Hansen, like Simon, is a senior -- two of just four on the roster. Garin is a sophomore. 

In addition to the other returnees (which includes both of last year's goalies, Jaela O'Brien and McKenna Hulslander), Hamline has nine new faces on the roster. 

After playing Adrian, Hamline has another stiff test -- a November 5 exhibition game against Darwitz's alma mater, the University of Minnesota. Game time at Ridder Arena is 7:00 p.m.

HU then opens its TRIA Rink schedule against Wis-Superior on Friday, November 8. Game time is 5:00 p.m. Concordia (WI) visits the next afternoon at 12:00 p.m.