The US women’s Olympic hockey team is scheduled to be announced this weekend, and with that, several players from the area’s colleges will see their Olympic dreams come true — some for the first time, and others for the second or third.
One of the most intriguing candidates is Boston College alum Alex Carpenter. A member of the silver-medal-winning team in Sochi in 2014, the North Reading product is back and has made a stellar case for making her second Olympic team.
She was a controversial cut during the 2018 selection process, but her scoring over the last few months should ensure a roster spot this time around. During the summer’s Women’s World Championships, she scored five goals, including two in the title-game loss to Canada.
In an unusual twist, Carpenter has played pro hockey in China for the last four years, and a trip to the Games in Beijing would bring her to familiar territory.
During their Hockey East days, Carpenter traded league honors with Northeastern’s Kendall Coyne Schofield, with the duo winning consecutive Patty Kazmaier Awards in 2015 and 2016. A lock to make her third Olympic team, Coyne Schofield has emerged as one of the best women’s players on the planet. The Berkshire School alum is known for her sheer speed, and she delivers big goals when needed.
Coyne Schofield may not be the only Huntington Avenue representative on the squad. Hayley Scamurra is in the mix, and she’d give Team USA a defensive-minded forward, which will be key when facing relentless Canada.
Since graduating from Northeastern in 2017, Scamurra has been a part of three World Championship squads, and she’d fill some important skates after several key retirements from the national team in the past three years.
Forward Jesse Compher could become Boston University’s first women’s hockey player on the US Olympic team. (Four have played for Team Canada, including Marie-Philip Poulin, who is set to play in her fourth Olympics in Beijing.) The Illinois native has played in four of the six pre-Olympic games against Canada, and picked up her contributions in her last two games.
Compher is a utility player. Her competitiveness creates a drive that can push any line she’s placed on. It also makes her an offensive chameleon, making a great sub for any forward in the event of injury. That would be a key reason for her to make an Olympic roster, especially in the age of COVID.
The youngest player aiming for an Olympic spot is 19-year-old Caroline Harvey, a Pelham, N.H., native who played for the North American Hockey Academy out of Wellesley and is committed to Wisconsin. She is relentless and fast, and could be a defensive anchor for Team USA for Olympics to come.
Cayla Barnes was in Harvey’s shoes in 2018, and the BC senior is a shoo-in for her second Olympic team. Megan Keller, who graduated from the Heights in 2019, is another blue-line favorite who was Hockey East Player of the Year during her college career.
Lachapelle derailed
Holy Cross coach Katie Lachapelle was slated to lead the US team headed to the Women’s World U18 Championships in Sweden in January. But in a controversial move, the International Ice Hockey Federation canceled all of its tournaments that would have started in January. For the second winter in a row, the world’s best players under the age of 18 will not have a tournament.
While it is unfortunate for the players, it also could hurt the advancement of women coaches within USA Hockey’s elite ranks. Lachapelle has been a coach on the climb within USA Hockey, serving as an assistant for the U18 team from 2013-17. She took the reins at Holy Cross after a nine-season stint under longtime BU coach Brian Durocher.
Lachapelle’s assistants for the January tournament were women: new Brown coach Mel Ruzzi, a Mansfield native, and Chelsea Walkland, an assistant at Colgate.
It is still a rarity to see female head coaches for USA Hockey international teams. Lachapelle, Minnesota-Duluth coach Maura Crowell, and 2022 Olympic assistant Courtney Kennedy (a BC assistant) are three who seem to be on a trajectory to change that.
“Heartbroken for our players and staff,” Lachapelle wrote on Twitter after the cancellation was announced. “I have no doubt we were on a journey for success.”
Familiar faces
Speaking of Crowell, she will be in town New Year’s Eve when Harvard hosts her Minnesota-Duluth team. It will be a homecoming of sorts, as Crowell served on Crimson coach Katey Stone’s staff for five years. Bulldogs associate head coach Laura Bellamy also is coming home; she was Harvard’s goaltender from 2009-13.