Bristol, R.I., April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Roger Williams University (RWU) announces the appointment of Lora Ardoin as the Inaugural Head Coach for the RWU Women’s Ice Hockey Program, which officially commences in the 2026-27 academic year.
“We are excited to have Lora join us as the Women’s Ice Hockey Head Coach at Roger Williams University,” said Kiki Jacobs, Director of Athletics, Intramurals, and Recreation at RWU. “Her energy and enthusiasm were unmatched. She came in with a detailed plan on how she wants to build her program and create a winning culture.”
Leading one of the newest varsity sport programs at RWU, Ardoin will serve to guide the Women’s Ice Hockey program launch and immediately begin recruiting for the Winter 2026 season.
“I am honored to be named Head Coach of the Women’s Ice Hockey program at Roger Williams University,” said Ardoin. “I would like to thank Vice President John King, Kiki Jacobs, and the entire hiring committee for putting their faith in me and giving me the opportunity to become a Hawk. This is going to be a fun process of tapping into the atmosphere on campus, the renowned academic standing, and support that has already been shown to myself and the conversation surrounding hockey at RWU. I look forward to bringing in future Hawks to build a competitive program and can’t wait to get to work!”
Ardoin joins Roger Williams after serving as an assistant coach for the Utica University women’s ice hockey program during the 2024-2025 season. At Utica, she instructed players on ice skills and in-game systems, coordinated video breakdowns, assisted in key recruiting efforts, and oversaw team travel logistics.
Prior to her time at Utica, Ardoin held assistant coaching positions at Union College during the 2023-24 season and at Stevenson University from 2021 to 2023. In these positions, she played pivotal roles in practice planning, video analysis, recruiting, and player support.
Ardoin began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Elmira College from 2019 to 2021, after beginning her career in athletics with the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), where she served as an Account Executive, developing corporate partnerships and organizing community outreach programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from SUNY Canton in 2017 and a master’s degree in Management from Elmira College in 2021.
As a former NCAA student-athlete at SUNY Canton, Ardoin competed in both women’s ice hockey and lacrosse from 2013 to 2017. She captained the women’s ice hockey team during the early seasons of the program’s existence, while serving as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Her leadership extended beyond athletics through her involvement with Special Olympics Area 26 as a lead student coordinator.
Roger Williams University competes in the Conference of New England (CNE). Along with its Women’s Ice Hockey program beginning competition during the 2026-27 season, RWU recently announced the addition of a Men’s Ice Hockey program that is set to begin competition during the 2025-26 season and to continue its popular Men’s Ice Hockey Club program.