SUNY Plattsburgh Women’s Hockey wins the 2025 SUNYAC Championship in Oswego (Photo by Gabe Dickens)

Our season previews continue as the 2025-2026 Men’s & Women’s Division III hockey regular season nears closer. Today, we look at the women’s side of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC).

The SUNYAC features:

Buffalo State
Canton
Cortland
Morrisville
Oswego
Plattsburgh
Potsdam
William Smith

2024-2025 Overview

Last season, we saw another Plattsburgh Cardinal (20-7-1) SUNYAC Championship title as they won their first SUNYAC title, but sixth title if you count the old “NEWHL” which was all the SUNYAC schools forming a conference prior to the SUNYAC sponsoring women’s hockey starting in the 2023-24 season.

We also saw Oswego State (22-3-2) miss out on an at-large bid because the math didn’t agree. We won’t discuss that situation any further as I’ve discussed it to the death and this isn’t the place to do it. The Lakers hosted Plattsburgh in the title game where as mentioned, the Cardinals won 2-0, ending the Lakers season.

Canton had a wild start to the season; we had no clue who or what they were as a team besides unpredictable than the Roos in the first month of the season. Canton began their season defeating #2 Adrian 1-0 (OT) in Head Coach Kalie Hart’s return to Michigan where she was an assistant at Adrian. The Roos then proceeded to lose three straight including a loss to Buffalo State, however, they would then defeat #4 Cortland 2-1 at home… Following that, they lost to Morrisville the next day… The Roos would finish the season 8-16-2, disappointing to say the least after going 14-11-0 the year prior, but no one had a wilder first month or so than Canton in terms of leaving us not knowing what to expect each and every night, for the good or for the bad.

Outside of the ‘big three’, the league struggled mightily, with the highest winning-percentage being .360.

The combined record of Cortland, Oswego, & Plattsburgh was (59-15-7), while the rest of the league was a combined (29-66-8) with Morrisville winning the fourth-most games in the league with nine (9-16-0). The ‘big three’ outscored their opponents 233-87, while the others were outscored by a combined 166-265…

It was a very top-heavy league, but the main story was Oswego’s emergence under Head Coach Mark Digby, reaching his team to new highs and plenty of program records to go along with it. They graduated 12 seniors including three fifth-year seniors, which is the most devastating aspect of missing out on the tournament somehow, this was the year where they had the most potential as a program in their history.

Returning Production

Looking at the league and the returning production via our guy Scott Huston, we find some interesting results:

The 2025-26 SUNYAC women’s hockey landscape is shaping up to be one defined by returning experience and roster turnover. Canton leads the way with an exceptional 89.87% of total points returning, along with 90.91% of goals and 89.13% of assists. That type of continuity is rare and gives the Roos a legitimate opportunity to build consistency early and challenge programs that have historically dominated the conference.

Cortland Women’s Hockey (Photo by Erin Locascio/ EDL Photography)

Cortland follows closely behind with 72.73% of total points and nearly 79% of goals returning. After a breakout year, this level of retention keeps them firmly in contention for another deep playoff run. The Red Dragons’ mix of veteran forwards and experienced defensive play should make them one of the most balanced teams in the SUNYAC this season.

Buffalo State also returns a healthy 67.44% of total production, setting them up as a sneaky threat capable of pulling off key upsets. Their offensive core remains largely intact, giving them a chance to stay competitive against deeper rosters.

Plattsburgh, one of Division III’s powerhouse programs, home of the greatest dynasty we’ve seen in women’s D-III, brings back 67.22% of its production. While this marks a moderate drop compared to past seasons, their culture of player development means they rarely miss a beat. Expect the Cardinals to remain a title contender as always, even with a younger lineup.

William Smith (51.30%), the new member of the SUNYAC, the women’s side of Hobart & William Smith and Oswego (41.94%) both face significant turnover, with Oswego losing more than half its scoring output, which we saw get the best of them in opening weekend, splitting with Castleton, a sight we would’ve never imagined seeing last season. These teams will need their underclassmen to quickly adjust to bigger roles. Morrisville rounds out the group with only 40% of points returning, signaling a rebuilding year.

Overall, returning production in the SUNYAC highlights a competitive divide—programs like Canton and Cortland retain stability, while others, including Oswego and Morrisville, will rely heavily on new faces to stay afloat in an increasingly balanced conference.

This season, the league has expanded their playoff format from four to six teams, while also making their conference play two games instead of the old three games per season versus each respective team.

Dark Horses

I don’t believe anyone in this league will win the SUNYAC outside of the ‘big three’ in Cortland, Oswego, or Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh has loaded back up and Cortland is looking to continue to keep giving the Cardinals problems as we’ve seen the Red Dragons knock them off or take them to overtime more times in the past few seasons than ever before.

Canton has shown they can beat anyone, but can they string wins and consistency is the question as they narrowly missed the SUNYAC playoffs last season to Morrisville.

Morrisville has shown some promise under their new Head Coach John Briggs, but the Mustangs will need to pull off two upsets if they end up getting that fourth spot in the SUNYAC playoffs which I simply don’t see happening. Although, the conference has expanded the women’s playoff from four to six teams, I still do not see a team other than those three getting in the NCAA tournament via the auto bid.

Oswego Women’s Hockey (Photo via Oswego State Athletics)

The heavy favorite will be Plattsburgh, Oswego will need to mature and figure things out quickly considering the huge roster turnover headed into this season, which we’ve already seen the effects of as mentioned, splitting their opening weekend series with Castleton. Cortland will be right there with the Red Dragons but suffered an early loss to #15 Wilkes on opening weekend, followed up with a slim shutout win over Utica.

Final Thoughts

The 2025-26 SUNYAC women’s season feels like the start of a new chapter. The dominance of Plattsburgh, Oswego, and Cortland still looms large, but shifting rosters and the league’s new six-team playoff format could tighten the gap. Plattsburgh remains the clear favorite—deep, disciplined, and battle-tested—but Cortland’s experience and returning offensive balance position them to keep the Cardinals honest. Oswego’s challenge lies in replacing its massive senior class while molding a young group that can sustain the momentum Mark Digby built last season.

Canton’s sky-high returning production gives them an edge few programs can match, but the Roos must find consistency if they want to turn potential into results. William Smith enters the fold as a talented but transitional team, while Buffalo State and Morrisville hope to build on stability and small steps forward.

Overall, the SUNYAC is entering an intriguing phase—still top-heavy, but with the middle tier gaining ground. If the league’s expanded format accomplishes anything, it’ll give rising programs more meaningful games and the chance to test themselves against perennial powers. Expect Plattsburgh to lead the way again, but don’t be surprised if Cortland, Oswego, or even Canton make things interesting come February.