Champs At Last: Wolverines Secure First-Ever CCWHA Championship
- Harrison Stidolph
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Harrison Stidolph
It’s Sunday afternoon, and the Dearborn Ice Skating Center is covered with litter.
A swarm of skaters flood onto the surface, painting a pollock of scattered hockey gloves and blemishes from the errant throws of their winged helmets. The unbridled excitement is palpable; their cacophony of hollers and clangering stick taps fighting for attention over the senses against the roars of a cheering maize and blue-clad crowd.
These cheerers have traveled across state and county lines just to see this moment, watching through the scuffed glass as a velvet-red banner approaches the ice; it awaits the future hands of its forever home: hanging from the rafters on Bernie Klein Place. The centerhung tells the crowd the story: U-M Dearborn, 4; Indiana Tech, 1. For the first time, the Wolverines are to be Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association champions.
The 6th-ranked Wolverines skated to their most successful season yet in March, surmounting their first-ever conference title and fighting for their first appearance in the Frosty Four. In only seven years as a program, the bar won’t find itself much higher.
After consecutively earning their second-ever American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament appearance, the Wolverines came into 2026 with a Bulldog-sized chip on their shoulder. But despite their once-again visit to nationals, the last postseason remained blemished — cut short in league play by a heartbreaking 1-0 conference championship loss to 1st-ranked Adrian last season.
The Wolverines skated strong back into the 2026 tournament with a vengeance: Closing out the regular season with a league-leading 29-2-0 record, the University of Michigan-Dearborn finished conference competition 13-1-0 – netting sweeps of 2nd-ranked Adrian and longtime U-M Dearborn rivals in Michigan State and U-M Ann Arbor’s own Wolverines.
“It was incredible,” said Captain Cadence Pero following the win over Indiana Tech. “We’ve worked hard all season long and put in countless hours of practice and workouts to prepare ourselves for playoffs and nationals. Being able to win for the first time ever really showed the team’s drive and commitment.”
Pero — who contributed two assists, finished the season ranked 1st in the nation in point scoring with 59; netting top 3 in goals with 26 and number 1 in assists with 33. “We have such a great group of girls,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them for how we showed up during that weekend.” Though ahead of the pack in scoring, the Senior doesn’t skate alone; in fact, 6 UM-Dearborn players placed in the top 25 for goals or assists – the most of any ACHA team.
The Wolverines’ longest postseason yet, though cut short by a heartbreaking 5-0 loss in the frosty four to defending champs Liberty, left much to be impressed with their hard-fought path to the semifinal. Dearborn punched above their weight bringing down 3rd-ranked Minot State, and trounced 10th-ranked Jamestown in a 5-0 blowout.
What lies in the tunnel ahead to next year’s competition leaves large skates to fill in graduating leadership and key contributors, but progress from the underclass may prove themselves worthy of the mantle. Not only will they be led by a deep junior class contributing well toward the team’s points, but they will have a future of support – namely in two standout freshmen forwards Pallavi Hari and Grace Taylor. Hari finished this year 8th in the country in goal scoring with 23, and Taylor jumped ahead in the lineup to become a bigger contributor this season with 13 points in 25 games.
Additional to the success of the underclass, star goalkeeper Kenna Borso, a junior, has another year with the squad. Finishing top 10 this season with a .940 save percentage, the goalie has well-rounded support in Sophomore Nicole Alexander, who boasted 178 saves at .952 over the course of 11 games.
All in all after yet another year in the history books, fans are looking forward to the next championship hunt. But in the meantime, a new banner for the best team on campus is a great sight to see.