Roger Williams has announced the appointment of Lora Ardoin as the inaugural head coach for the RWU women’s hockey team, which officially starts with the 2026-27 season.
Ardoin joins Roger Williams after serving as an assistant coach for the Utica women’s hockey team during the 2024-25 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.
“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, in a statement. “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.”
“I am honored to be named head coach of the women’s ice hockey program at Roger Williams University,” added 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.”
Prior to her time at Utica, Ardoin held assistant coaching positions at Union during the 2023-24 season and at Stevenson 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 from 2019 to 2021, after beginning her career in athletics with the SPHL’s Knoxville Ice Bears, 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 Canton (2017) and a master’s degree in management from Elmira (2021).
As a former NCAA student-athlete at Canton, Ardoin competed in both women’s hockey and lacrosse from 2013 to 2017. She captained the women’s 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.
