Deanna Iwanicka has been the head coach of the Lancer women’s hockey program since 2018. She envisioned a 5-year plan to build a championship program and is headed in the right direction as the Lancers have qualified for the playoffs for three consecutive years (since 2021).
The Lancer women's hockey team won the IG Cup for the 2021-22 season. This award is given to the team that best combines athletics, academics, and community involvement.
The 2022-23 season was the Lancers' best season to date (since Iwanicka took over) with a record over 0.500, OUA Rookie of the Year (Keanna McKibbin), OUA goalie of the year (Kristen Swiatoschik), and OUA First All-Conference Team Forward (Maggie Peterson).
The women's hockey team was also awarded the 2023-24 Dr Moriarty Academic Team of the Year Award. Iwanicka promotes a highly motivated and successful team when it comes to academics. On average, over half the team achieves Academic All-Canadian status.
The Lancers continue working towards their goal to build a championship U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Program.
Iwanicka has a strong focus on recruitment as part of her program and has set her sights on recruiting from all over the country. Maggie Peterson, was named an OUA second team all-star in 2021-22 & first team all star 2022-23 (as per above). Maggie will graduate this season, as the first cycle of recruits hits this stage and we move into the next five years. Among other top recruits that Iwanicka has brought to Windsor, there are many players with U18 provincial level experience as well as other players from top organizations in Canada. We continue to see success in our recruitment, as the level of our incoming student-athletes improves every season.
We have successfully recruited many student-athletes with U18 provincial team experience (BC, AB, MB), from the OWHA U22AA league, and CEGEP (QB).
Since 2018, the program has gone through a major transition, prioritizing the student-athlete experience, graduate success, team results, and contributions to the community.
Highlights (beyond recruiting):
- Team travelled to Alberta in 2022/23 playing in an exhibition series at the University of Alberta, and visiting the Canadian Rockies
- Hired a full-time assistance coach, Amy Maitre – local to the area, and program alumnus.
- Partnerships with many minor hockey organizations, including Lakeshore Lightning Girls Hockey
- Alumni mentorship program, matching up current student-athletes with Alumni
Widely regarded as one of the top collegiate women's hockey coaches in Western Canada, Iwanicka joins the Lancers after spending ten seasons leading the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks women's hockey program. During her tenure, she guided The NAIT Ooks to three consecutive ACAC championships from 2013-15 and was named the ACAC coach of the year in 2010 & 2015.
During Iwanicka's time as head coach, the NAIT women's hockey team left their mark on the ACAC record books. Under her direction, the Ooks are tied for most consecutive league championships with three and the program also had two athletes named ACAC players of the year. In addition, three of Iwanicka's athletes were ACAC single season leading scorers and three were also named ACAC rookies of the year.
As a player, the Alberta native won a U SPORTS National Championship and two Canada West titles with the University of Alberta Pandas women's hockey program.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, she has also previously served as an assistant coach for the U18 Team Alberta squad.
Coach Iwanicka graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Physical Education as well as a Bachelor of Education. She has also completed her High Performance Coaching Certification and Hockey Canada Skills Certification. In addition, Iwanicka has a Master of Arts, with a Specialization in Coaching, from the University of Alberta.
