Natalie Hornbuckle has a year to build a women’s hockey team that mirrors the men’s teams’ success.

Hornbuckle, who served as head coach of the ACHA Division II Women’s Ice Hockey program at Miami University of Ohio since 2020, has been tasked with attracting top talent from around the world to Purdue Northwest. 

“I’m trying to build a team that is going to be successful, a team that is going to be in the mix of the top 10 [or] 15 women’s teams in the U.S. So there is a lot of pressure for sure,” she said.

When her team takes the ice next fall, it will join a PNW hockey program that has seen significant success. The DI men’s team is coming off four consecutive winning seasons, one GLIAC championship and two years of competing in the ACHA DI national tournament. The DII men’s team has completed back-to-back winning seasons and it finished second in the NCHL Conference tournament last year.

Hornbuckle is no stranger to success. 

As Miami’s coach, she guided her team into the playoffs during the 2023 – 2024 season. Last year, Miami finished with a 10-7-1 record and achieved a Top 10 Central Region ranking in a highly competitive region in ACHA DII Women’s Hockey. 

Prior to collegiate coaching she had her time on the ice playing D1 hockey at Miami University from 2015 -2019. She helped the team capture two national championships and four consecutive Final Four appearances. As a player, she also held leadership roles off the ice as the team’s vice president from 2017 to 2019.

To duplicate those successes here, Hornbuckle plans to recruit internationally. The men’s teams have recruited internationally for several years.  Men’s Pride players come from as far away as Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Canada and the United Kingdom.  

Hornbuckle’s goal is to find 25 fierce girls to represent PNW. 

And, if anyone has any doubts about her ability to do that, Hornbuckle has just one thing to say: “Get excited for what’s to come.”