BIDDEFORD, Maine -- University of New England head women's ice hockey coach David Venditti has informed Director of Athletics Heather Davis that he is stepping down from the position for personal reasons.

A national search for the Nor'easters' next women's ice hockey coach will begin immediately.

Venditti took over a one-year-old varsity program in the fall of 2013 and led UNE for the last 10 seasons. Aside from his first season, when the team was still independent of any conference, the Nor'easters made postseason appearances each time there was an opportunity. The first of four semifinal trips came in 2015-16 during the inaugural year of the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), and Venditti was named NEHC Coach of the Year after guiding UNE to a 15-9-2 overall record.

The Nor'easters went 16-9-2 in 2019-20 (program-best .629 winning percentage), claimed the second seed with a 10-4-2 mark in Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) action, and reached a championship final for the first time. Following the pandemic year of just three games, UNE once again made an appearance in a league title match in 2021-22, this time as the fourth seed during the inaugural Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) season.

Over his 10 seasons (9 full), Venditti's squad won 105 games and tied 29, with a 54-58-17 record through four conference affiliations.

"David essentially built our women's ice hockey program from scratch into a championship-caliber contender," shared Davis. "I am so grateful for his commitment to UNE hockey over the past decade and wish him well in his future endeavors. This team has been and remains filled with excellent representatives of the Division III philosophy and of UNE and are well poised for future success."