Format | Schedule | Statistics | Tickets | Watch | Reagan Carey Discusses Team USA's Roster
OTTAWA – Two current players, three former players and one staff member with Northeastern ties will represent their respective countries this week for the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship in Ottawa, Ontario.
Kendall Coyne, Hilary Witt and Sarah Cahill will don the red, white and blue for the United States, Julia Marty and
Florence Schelling will skate for Switzerland, and
Lucie Povova will represent the Czech Republic at the week-long tournament beginning on Tuesday at Scotiabank Place and the Nepean Sportsplex.
Coyne earned a spot on the American roster following a seven-day training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. The original roster of 28 was trimmed to 23 on Saturday, one day prior to the team's departure to Ottawa. Coyne led the Huskies with 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) this season en route to AHCA/CCM All-American status. Coyne was also named a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-ten finalist on Feb. 28.
“With the depth of the talent pool in our country, it's always a challenge to settle on a final roster and this year was no different,” said Reagan Carey, director of women's hockey for USA Hockey and also the general manager of the 2013 U.S. Women's National Team. “We're excited about the group of players we've selected and are confident that Coach Stone has the team focused and prepared to compete for the gold medal in Ottawa.”
Coyne native became the first Husky since 1988 to record at least 65 points in a season, earning Hockey East First Team All-Star honors along the way. The Palos Heights, Ill. native finished the season on a career-long 16-game point streak (21 goals, 16 assists), including 12 multi-point games, six multi-goal games and two hat tricks. A seven-time Athletic Republic Player of the Week honoree, Coyne became the 22nd player in program history to record 100 career points, and only the third to accomplish the feat in less than two seasons with the team.
Witt, Northeastern's all-time leading scorer with 208 points (113 goals, 95 assists), will serve as an assistant coach for the United States on Harvard head coach Katey Stone's staff. Witt previously served as an assistant for the Huskies during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons before being named coordinator of player development and women's national team scout for USA Hockey.
As a player from 1996 to 2000, Witt was a two-time All-ECAC selection and a three-time candidate for the Patty Kazmaier Award. She was inducted into the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Women's Beanpot Hall of Fame in 2010. Witt is also a former member of the U.S. Women's National Team (2001) and the all-time winningest women's ice hockey coach at Yale University.
Cahill is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Northeastern, and will assume the same role for Team USA during the tournament. Cahill holds certifications from both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
Marty, who has been a part of the Swiss National Team since 2003, skated for the Huskies from 2008 to 2011, recording 10 goals and 28 assists in 82 career games played. She was named a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star following the 2008-09 season in addition to her WHEA All-Tournament Team selection in 2011. Marty's twin sister, Stafanie, is also on Team Switzerland's roster.
Schelling, a two-time All-American during her time on Huntington Ave., is one of the top women's goaltenders in the world. She was played in two Olympic games, most recently backstopping the Swiss to a fifth place finish in Vancouver in 2010. She is Northeastern's all-time record holder in career minutes (5,878), goals against average (1.74), save percentage (.940) and saves (2,681). Schelling was a two-time candidate for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, and was named a top-three finalist for the accolade in 2012.
Povova concluded her second season with the Huskies in 2012-13, tallying three goals and five assists in 29 games played. She has been a member of the Czech Republic National Team since 2011. Prior to her arrival at NU, she was a member of the Czech women's national team that swept the competition en route to a gold medal at the IIHF Division II World Championships.
The United States and Switzerland will be joined by Canada and Finland in Group A, while Czech Republic, Sweden, Russia and Germany comprise Group B. Play begins on April 2 at 12 p.m. After a single round-robin series in each group, the four teams from Group A and the best two teams from Group B advance to the Playoff Round while the third- and fourth-placed team in Group B will play a best-of-three relegation round series.
The two top-seeded teams from Group A will receive Quarterfinal Round bye thus moving automatically to the Semifinals. The Quarterfinals will be played between 3A-2B and 4A-1B. The winner of each Quarterfinal moves onto the Semifinals, while the loser will play a placement game.??The winner of each Semifinal game will move onto the Gold Medal Game, while the losers will play in the Bronze Medal Game.
.
