The 2024-25 season will be the seventh for Jennifer Wilson as the head coach of the Foresters and 12th working with athletes at the collegiate level.
The Foresters were 14-14-0 overall and 10-6-0 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play in 2023-24. Thanks to a 2-0 minigame triumph over Concordia University Wisconsin, they advanced to the semifinals of the NCHA Slaats Cup Playoffs.
Wilson has compiled an overall record of 77-57-10 and an NCHA mark of 56-25-7 in her six years at the College. The Foresters have qualified for the NCHA Slaats Cup Playoffs each year and reached the event's semifinal round five times.
Defeseman Abby Meyer was an All-NCHA selection while goaltender Chelsea Denniss was voted NCHA Freshman of the Year and named to the NCHA All-Freshman Team in 2023-24. Wilson now has nine all-conference selections and five NCHA All-Freshman Team honorees in her six seasons as head coach. In addition, nine Foresters earned NCHA All-Academic Team accolades, raising the program's total during Wilson's tenure to 68.
Lake Forest has been extremely successful statistically since Wilson took over as head coach. The team ranked tied-for-seventh in the country with 8 shutouts in 2023-24, Amy Budde tied for third in the NCHA with 33 points in 2018-19, Sydney Simone shared the national lead with four short-handed goals in 2019-20, and goaltender Jacque Rogers graduated in 2020 as the program's career leader with a 1.49 goals against average, .939 save percentage, 51 victories, and 22 shutouts.
Wilson came to Lake Forest from NCAA Division III Buffalo State, a member of the Northeast Women's Hockey League. The Bengals posted a 13-11-2 overall record in 2017-18, Wilson's only season at the helm of the program. The team was 9-6-1 in conference play and earned a home game in the inaugural NEWHL playoffs by placing second in the standings behind perennial national power Plattsburgh State.
Prior to her time at Buffalo State, Wilson spent a pair of seasons as the head coach at ACHA Division I Robert Morris University in Chicago and associate head coach at the high school level at Loyola Academy. She helped lead Robert Morris to the Eagles' first appearance in the conference tournament semifinals in four years and Loyola to a state title and runner-up finish.
Wilson's coaching career began at NCAA Division II St. Michael's in Vermont, where she was an assistant for two seasons. She helped lead the Knights to their first postseason appearance in the program's 12-year history and was selected as an intern coach for the U15 National Development Camp in St. Cloud, Minn. Wilson remains active with USA Hockey as a certified level 4 coach and has additional experience as a talent evaluator, instructor, and coach for several high-level state programs and showcases.
Wilson began her collegiate playing career at NCAA Division III Manhattanville College, where she was part of the 2006 ECAC-East Championship team that posted a 23-4-1 record. She played her final two years at Robert Morris, where she served as an assistant captain and amassed 49 points on 22 goals and 27 assists in 68 games. The Manitowoc, Wisconsin, native was also one of the state's top high school players and was selected to Team Wisconsin for the Chicago Showcase.
She earned her bachelor's degree in marketing and television writing from Columbia College in Chicago and earned a master's in sports administration from Robert Morris.
Wilson lives in Lake Forest.
