Senior forward Chelsea Koehn gives Natalie Darwitz, first-year head coach of the women’s hockey team, as much credit as anyone for retaining this year’s senior class after three tough years under past head coach Steve DeBus.

“It was a rough three years, it started off tough,” said Koehn. “Having Darwitz this year was a really good experience for my fourth year. Our senior year was the best out of the four.”

Darwitz was brought in to revitalize the Hamline program and to give it a well-known name, and when she came to the program, she met with the seniors.

“I met with all the players to get to know them better personally,” said Darwitz. “The senior class in particular were all craving a breath of fresh air, something new, a new culture.”

Koehn was recruited to Hamline by DeBus and not wanting to stay back in her home state of Michigan, saw Hamline as a good fit for her after falling in love with the campus.

“The seniors who stuck it out stayed close for all four years,” said Koehn. “We had such a big class and we all grew up together.”

Just 17 years into participating in the MIAC, Hamline has struggled to find success. With just two winning seasons to their record (2006-2007 and 2007-2008), the Pipers hadn’t won more than eight games since the 2007-2008 season and have finished in the bottom two places 12 times.

“For a lot of girls, going from Coach DeBus to Darwitz was a total 180,” said senior forward Megan Lawry. “With her coming in, it kept us eight seniors together and allowed us to have one last year together with a great coach was unbelievably fun.”

With a new coach in Darwitz and a re-focused mindset, the Pipers had their most successful season in nearly a decade. The Pipers even managed to steal a point from Gustavus, who had previously never surrendered a point to the Pipers. Not only did the Pipers snatch a point from Gustavus, but the tie in that final game of the year kept Gustavus out of the playoffs for the first time ever.

“It was history right there and shows we are moving in the right direction.” said Koehn.

Darwitz was pleased with the effort given by Koehn throughout the year.

“She was always guaranteed to bring 100 percent effort,” said Darwitz. “At the beginning of the year, it’s easy to go all out. Once you get into the middle of the year it can be hard for kids to stay focused but she was someone you could always rely on to play her heart out.”

The success of the season meant that the Pipers were in the playoff hunt for a large portion of the season, and were only knocked out of the playoffs on the second-to-last weekend of the year.

“The fact that our fate was in our hands was a little disappointing because we could have taken control and gone to the playoffs,” said Koehn, “but at the same time it made for a great atmosphere.”

Lawry was extremely complimentary about what Chelsea brought to the team throughout her four years with the program.

“She’s a very hard worker and is constantly moving,” said Lawry. “To be on her line, you have to work hard every shift, give 100 percent, and if you aren’t on her level, you will be way behind the play.”

Despite hanging up the skates after her final game, Koehn isn’t ready to say goodbye to hockey just yet.

“Hamline women’s hockey is moving in a positive direction and I wish I could be a part of it,” said Koehn. “I can’t wait to come back next year and watch games. That’s not something that seniors have really done in the past because nothing was happening, but me and the seven other seniors are really excited to come back and support a great program.”

Koehn had a great career with the Pipers, finishing her career with 62 points, tied for sixth-best in Hamline women’s hockey history.

“I’m happy with where I’m at,” said Koehn. “That was more [points] than I ever thought I’d get in college. It’s exciting to see my name there.”

Like many other programs, it will be a noticeable loss with such a high-scoring member of the team graduating, and the Pipers will have to look towards their younger players for a replacement.

“She’s an asset that we’re losing and someone’s going to have to step up and fill her position,” said first-year forward Lexus Tatge. “She was a really good hockey player.”