The Bishop's Gaiters women's ice hockey program represents Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec in the sport of ice hockey in the RSEQ conference of U Sports women's ice hockey. When the Gaiters joined the RSEQ, they became the first-Quebec based program not from the city of Montreal to compete in the conference. The Gaiters have won one national championship, winning in their first tournament appearance in 2025.
WomenâÂÂs hockey at BishopâÂÂs dates back to 1915. In 1975 and 1976, Bishops hosted the Women's Invitational Hockey Tournament. The 1975 participants also included the Loyola Tommies, University of Toronto and Dawson College. The Loyola Tommies captured the championship, defeating Toronto in the final. The participants for the 1976 Tournament included John Abbott College, University of New Brunswick Red Blazers and Dawson College. John Abbott captured the championship, while Bishop's defeated Dawson College in double overtime for third place.
Recent history has seen the Gaiters undergo significant movement. Members of the Independent WomenâÂÂs Club Hockey League (IWCHL) in 2016âÂÂ17, the program would spend the 2017âÂÂ18 and 2018âÂÂ19 seasons competing in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Following their sojourn in the ACHA, the Gaiters played an independent schedule in 2019âÂÂ20. In January 2020, it was announced that the Gaiters were poised to join the RSEQ for the 2020âÂÂ21 season, benefitting from a lead gift from the Molson Family Foundation, including support from Molson Coors and the Bishop's University Foundation and other donors. The Gaiters home arena was renamed the Jane and Eric Molson Arena. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2020âÂÂ21 season was cancelled.
Gaiters assistant coaches Val Bois and Katia Clement-Heydra formed the Women's Hockey Institute in December 2020, a partnership with Bishop's University and Fonction Optimum, based at the Jane & Eric Molson Arena.
The Gaiters joined the RSEQ conference for the 2021âÂÂ22 season, becoming the 37th U Sports-level women's hockey university team in Canada. Their first game as an official member of the RSEQ conference took place on 22 October 2021, against the Montreal Carabins women's ice hockey program.
In 2024, Gabrielle Santerre became the first player in USPORTS women's ice hockey history to win the Brodrick Trophy (awarded to the Most Outstanding Player in USPORTS) and the Rookie of the Year Award in the same year. In addition, she also captured the same honors at the conference level, earning the RSEQ MVP and RSEQ Rookie of the Year Awards, respectively. During the 2023-24 season, she left the nation in scoring with 45 points in 25 games play. Of note, she set an RSEQ Rookie record for most points in one season.
After winning the conference championship for the first time in the 2024-25 season, the Gaiters qualified for their first national tournament as the third-seeded team in the 2025 U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Championship. The Gaiters won three straight games, including the gold medal game against the host Waterloo Warriors, to earn their first U Sports women's ice hockey championship in just their fourth season of play.
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Rookie of the Year
Charles Chapman Award
Most Improved Player
Most Valuable Player