Connecticut College Women's Ice Hockey

Kristin Steele recently completed her 24th season as the head women’s ice hockey coach at Connecticut College in 2024-25. Under her direction, the Camels have developed into a perennial contender in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and have been ranked among the top 10 programs in the country. During the 2024-25 season, Steele guided the Camels back to the NESCAC Tournament, while coaching both the NESCAC Player of the Year, Claire Sammons, and the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Pierce. Sammons became the first player in program history to be named NESCAC Player of the Year, while also becoming the first to earn AHCA All-American status, landing on the East Second Team. In 2015-16, the Camels set a school record by winning 15 games and matched the feat by registering 15 victories over the next two campaigns with Steele on the sidelines. The 2017-18 squad recently finished with a 15-6-5 ledger and a school-record .673 winning percentage while advancing to the semifinal round of the NESCAC Tournament for the third straight season and fifth time in six years. After guiding the program to its first winning season in 2010-11, Steele led the Camels to another historic winter by registering a 14-11-1 record in 2012-13 and setting a school record for victories at the time. The 2013-14 team made more history by becoming the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, and the Camels followed that up by earning the right to host their first postseason game a year later. Steele was also recognized as both the NESCAC and New England Hockey Writers Coach of the Year in 2014-15. Beginning with a top-four finish in the conference standings in 2014-15, the Camels have boasted a 80-51-21 ledger and an impressive .595 winning percentage under Steele’s tutelage. The team has also produced eight all-conference selections over the past six years and during what has been the program’s most successful span in school history. Prior to her arrival at Connecticut College, Steele spent three seasons as the assistant women’s ice hockey coach and recruiting coordinator at Niagara University and helped build the Purple Eagles into a top 10 Division I program. She began her collegiate coaching career in 1997 as an assistant for the women’s ice hockey program at Colgate University. Before beginning her collegiate coaching career at Colgate, Steele spent three years at Northfield Mount Hermon,  her prep school alma mater, in Massachusetts. She served as the head coach of the varsity ice hockey team in 1996 and was also an assistant for the soccer and softball programs while teaching environmental studies and biology. Along with her collegiate coaching duties, Steele coaches at the USA Hockey Girls Development Camps each summer in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She also works as an evaluator and coach for numerous USA hockey districts and serves as the Development Director for Atlantic District Girls’ Hockey. Furthermore, Steele has served on the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Committee and chaired the East Region for two years. From 2001-07, she worked at the Empire States Games in New York and coached the gold and silver-medal winning Western teams. A native of Gill, Massachusetts, Steele graduated from the University of Maine in 1994. She was a four-year letterwinner, three-time captain and an All-AWCHA First Team selection as a defender on the ice for the Black Bears and also earned All-North Atlantic Conference Second Team accolades as a member of the softball team in 1993. Steele's Year-by-Year Record Year School Record Conf. Postseason 2024-25 Conn College 11-12-1 6-9-1 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2023-24 Conn College 7-11-6 2-11-3 2022-23 Conn College 12-12-1 6-9-1 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2021-22 Conn College 9-15-2 4-12-0 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2020-21 Conn College 4-0-0 0-0-0 2019-20 Conn College 13-8-4 6-6-4 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2018-19 Conn College 10-11-3 6-7-3 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2017-18 Conn College 15-6-5 9-3-4 NESCAC Semifinals 2016-17 Conn College 15-8-3 10-5-1 NESCAC Semifinals 2015-16 Conn College 15-8-3 8-5-3 NESCAC Semifinals 2014-15 Conn College 12-10-3 7-7-2 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2013-14 Conn College 11-12-3 4-9-3 NESCAC Semifinals 2012-13 Conn College 14-11-1 7-8-1 NESCAC Semifinals 2011-12 Conn College 11-12-2 5-10-1 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2010-11 Conn College 12-11-2 8-7-1 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2009-10 Conn College 8-15-2 5-9-2 NESCAC Quarterfinals 2008-09 Conn College 9-14-3 6-8-2 NESCAC Semifinals 2007-08 Conn College 7-14-4 5-8-3 NESCAC First Round 2006-07 Conn College 6-14-3 2-11-3 2005-06 Conn College 6-13-4 4-10-2 NESCAC First Round 2004-05 Conn College 5-17-2 2-12-2 2003-04 Conn College 7-18-0 5-11-0 2002-03 Conn College 3-14-6 2-11-3 2001-02 Conn College 3-18-0 2-14-0 Career (24 seasons) 225-284-63 121-202-45

Colbert enters her second season as an assistant women's hockey coach at Connecticut College. This past season the Camels finished with an all time high fourth place finish in the NESCAC and hosting their first ever-home quarter final playoff game. Colbert has gained valuable experience in coaching and hockey operations. She interned with the Cornell University men's hockey coaching staff in the ECAC and with USA Hockey women's department in Colorado Springs, Colo. She continues to work with USA Hockey each summer at a national level, working at the U-18 and U-15 National Camps in St. Cloud, Minn. as an intern coach and on ice skills person. She also acted as the hockey operations assistant for the Top 66 Under-18 player evaluation camp in Maine and for the U.S. vs. Canada 3 game-series for both Under-18 and Under-22 teams in Lake Placid, NY this past summer. During her time at Trinity, Colbert was a four-year contributor to the Trinity College women's hockey team in the NESCAC. She appeared in all 25 of the Bantams' contest in 2013-14, posting a career-high five-points that included a game-winning score and helped the Bantams qualify for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament each winter.  Colbert spearheaded numerous charitable endeavors in and around the Capital City.  In 2013, she coordinated a "Pink in the Rink," event that helped raise $13,500 dollars for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and in 2014, organized a game dedicated to raise awareness for Connecticut Childrens Hospital which raised over $7,500. Similarly, during her senior year at Trinity, Colbert traveled across town to intern at the Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, supporting the program as an intern with the women's hockey and women's lacrosse programs.