Chris Donovan M'06, the only head coach in the varsity history of the Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey program, enters his 13th season at the helm of the Purple Knights in 2012-13. Donovan heads into his 22nd year of coaching overall, with 2013 his 14th guiding college women's teams.

The squad was beset by injuries in 2011-12, eventually losing 11 contests by three goals or fewer, including six by one or less. The Purple Knights advanced to the Saint Michael's Holiday Classic title game, coming within 3-1 of Division I Sacred Heart University during a setback. In 2010-11, Donovan helped lead Saint Michael's to the first postseason victory in program history, as the Purple Knights defeated Sacred Heart, 9-2, in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women's Open Tournament.

In 2009-10, Donovan's squad won the Saint Michael's Holiday Classic for the first time in program history, as the Purple Knights defeated Colby College and Plymouth State University to claim the title. The victory over the Mules was the Purple and Gold's first ever against a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) institution.

In 2008-09, Donovan's team won six games, including four in the ECAC East, after notching eight victories the prior campaign, as each of the Purple Knights' wins during 2007-08 was in conference. Saint Michael's finished just below .500 in the ECAC East, going 8-10-1 behind the first victories in program history versus the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Norwich University, and the University of Southern Maine.

After playing an abbreviated six-game varsity schedule during 2000-01, their first season of varsity play, the Purple Knights earned their first win against a varsity squad on Jan. 4, 2002, blanking Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 4-0.

In the past 12 years, Donovan has recruited players who have earned four ECAC East All-Conference honors, three ECAC East All-Rookie Team laurels, and 40 ECAC East All-Academic accolades. His players have been named ECAC East Rookie of the Week five times, Player of the Week four times, and Goalie of the Week three times.

In 2005-06, goalie Annice Mason '06 was nominated for the 2006 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen. Another goalie, Marcy Ring '05, was previously nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year. Donovan's players have included players hailing from as close as neighboring New England states, Ontario and Quebec, and ranging from as far away as California, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

Donovan has an extensive hockey background, including coaching at the USA Development Camp for girls ages 13-18 for the past 10 years. He was a member of the coaching staff at the Phillips Exeter Academy Hockey Camp during many summers until 2005, and on-ice director of the staff as a member of the Breakaway Hockey Camp for Girls held each summer at Cairns Arena until 2006. In 2005 he was a coach at the Cornell Hockey Camp.

He served as an assistant coach for the Saint Michael's men from 1991-92 to 1993-94. In 1995, Donovan took over as coaching director for the Vermont Northern Lights women's program. He worked with the 13-15 age group, which was the district regional runner-up one year, and worked with the 16-19 group who were the district regional runner-up for two consecutive years.

Donovan played for Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Mass., and went on to play at Norwich from 1969-70 to 1972-73, serving as captain of the Cadets in his senior year. A 1973 graduate of Norwich, Donovan holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in secondary education, and earned his master's degree in administration from Saint Michael's in May of 2006. He resides in Hardwick, Vt.

A former captain and four-year player at Division I University of Vermont, Chelsea Rapin joins the Saint Michael's women's ice hockey program as an assistant coach for her first season in 2012-13.

Rapin brings a strong leadership background to Saint Michael's, including as a camp counselor and coach, an on-ice official, and a student. She is in line to complete her Level 2 certification for officiating through USA Hockey in fall 2012 and worked various ice hockey camps between 2010 and 2012, including at the Vermont Stars Summer Classic this year. Rapin was previously a head camp counselor at the Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield, Mich., from 2008 to 2010.

A captain for the 2011-12 team at Vermont, Rapin led the Catamounts in points (15) while tying for second in both goals (7) and assists (8). She finished her 130-game career with 19 goals and 20 assists, tying for eighth in program history in career goals. Rapin was one point and assist shy of the top 10 in each of those categories.

Rapin, who earned a degree in May 2012 in exercise and movement science and will continue to pursue her doctorate in physical therapy until 2014 through an accelerated six-year undergraduate/graduate program, qualified for the Hockey East All-Academic Team three times during her career. She also served on the University of Vermont's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) while volunteering with Special Olympics and with local sled hockey teams through the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association (NDAA).

A native of Walled Lake, Mich., Rapin competed in five USA Hockey Championships during her youth, playing primarily for Honeybaked Hockey Club before helping the Detroit Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club advance to the U-19 national title game during her senior year of high school. She also participated in the 2007 USA Hockey National U-17/U-18 Development Camp.

Ethan Fenn, who has coaching experience that dates back more than 20 years, returns for his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team in 2012-13. He works primarily with the Purple Knights' goaltenders.

Fenn arrived at Saint Michael's with a wealth of experience at a variety of levels. Before joining Saint Michael's, Fenn worked the previous three years with Full Stride Hockey, a local company that runs both youth and adult hockey programs. He also served as a goaltender coach at Wesleyan University in 1992-93 and 1993-94, and a practice goalie for the Wesleyan women's ice hockey team from 1989-90 to 1991-92.

Fenn's educational background includes earning bachelor's degrees in economics and mathematics from Wesleyan in 1993, where he played on the men's ice hockey team as a senior; a degree from the University of Chicago Law School (2002); and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago (2003), where he played on the university's club ice hockey team.

Since 2004, Fenn has served as the president of his own law office. He has also served as an adjunct instructor at nearby Champlain College, teaching courses in macroeconomics.

A long-time goaltender instructor and local coach, Leon Lifschutz enters his first season as the goaltenders coach for the Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team in 2012-13.

Lifschutz comes to the program with experience in leadership and teaching, including serving as the club sports coordinator at the University of Vermont since 2007 and the head coach of the Burlington High School varsity boys' ice hockey program since 2010. He also holds a Level 3 coaching certification from USA Hockey.

In his two years at Burlington, Lifschutz has guided the Seahorses to back-to-back postseason appearances. As the club sports coordinator at UVM, Lifschutz is responsible for the supervision of the university's 55 club sports. He also teaches CPR and first aid classes in the position, and has taught a sports management class at the institution since 2011.

Prior to his work as a high school coach, Lifschutz was the head instructor at Saves Goaltending, where he conducted a variety of training programs for ice hockey goalies between 2001 and 2006. Many of his disciples graduated to play junior and college hockey. During the 2006-07 school year, Lifschutz was a teacher in the Milton Town School District, where he eventually coached from 2007 to 2009.

Lifschutz co-founded the Northern Vermont Wildcats midget program in 2007, serving as the president and head coach until 2011.

A former junior hockey player for the Alliston (Ontario) Hornets, Lifschutz completed his bachelor's degree in history at York (Ontario) University in 2005. He went on to earn his master's degrees in secondary education and social studies at D'Youville (N.Y.) College in 2006 and has begun pursuit of additional degrees from UVM.