Four Gophers to play in USA-Canada Collegiate Series this week; fifth named to Canadian U-18 squad for series against U.S.
Five (5) members of the Gopher Women's Hockey program will be in action this, representing their home countries as U.S. and Canada National Collegiate Select Teams and National U-18 Teams square off in a pair of three-game series later this week at Canada Games Park in Thorold, Ontario. Both series will feature action on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, August 14, 15 & 17, with the U-18 squads playing at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT and the Collegiate teams dropping the puck at 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT.
Peyton Hemp, Ella Huber, and new transfer Sydney Morrow were named to the U.S. Women's Collegiate Select Team this morning, and will wear the red, white, and blue in Thorold.
A pair of incoming Gopher freshmen defenders will be wearing the Canadian maple leaf. Gracie Graham was among 24 players named to their Collegiate Select / National Development Team on August 1 and Chloe Primerano was named to the Canada National U-18 Team yesterday.
As of the time of publishing this email, no information has been shared about coverage of any of the six games. We will post updates to our accounts on Facebook and X as they become available.
GWH alumna Noora Räty hired as assistant coach at SCSU
Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Noora Räty was named one of two new assistant coaches of the St. Cloud State Huskies women's hockey team on Friday, August 2. Emily Ach will also join Brian Idalski's coaching staff after serving last year as an assistant coach at Merchyhurst.
Räty remains the winningest goaltender in GWH history with 114 victories, also holding the records for career shutouts (43) and saves (3,250). She sits in the second spot for career save percentage (.946) and third in goals-against average (1.34). Her 38 wins in the 2012-2013 are tied for most in a single season in program history (matched by Amanda Leveille the following year).
Räty is well known for her international play representing her home nation of Finland, earning two Olympic bronze medals in four Winter Games and five IIHF Women's World Championship medals (one silver and four bronze) across nine tournaments. She also earned individual honors at both venues; at the Olympics, she was named an All-Star once and at the World Championships, she won the Best Goaltender Award five times, was named to the All-Star team four times and earned MVP honors once.
While playing professionally with a number of different teams across several leagues, including some appearances on men's teams in Finland, Räty performed at a top level, winning three league championships while playing in Russia (Russian Women's Hockey League / Zhenskaya Hockey League) and being named the Goaltender of the Year in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). She last played in 2022-2023 with HPK in the Naisten Liiga (Finnish Women's League).
Moving over to the coaching side, Räty spend last season (2023-2024) as the goaltenders coach for Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star of the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League (WCIHL).
We send Noora congratulations on this new opportunity, and we'll see her this fall when the Gophers face the Huskies in WCHA competition!
WCHA names Michelle McAteer as new commissioner
The UMD alumna takes over after 14 years as head coach at Augsburg
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Thursday (Aug. 8) that 14-year Augsburg University women's hockey head coach Michelle McAteer has been selected as the league's new commissioner, following approval by the WCHA’s Board of Directors.
McAteer played collegiately at Minnesota Duluth from 1999 through 2003, earning three NCAA championships and being named a three time WCHA All-Academic Team and AWHCA All-American Scholar selection (2001, 2002, 2003). She immediately switched to coaching, serving as a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs for two more seasons (2003-2005). McAteer moved up to an assistant coaching position at Harvard for two years (2005-2007), spent one year as an assistant coach in the CWHL with the Vaughan Flames (2007-2008), then returned to UMD as an assistant coach there for two more seasons (2008-2010). Following that, she was hired as the head coach of the Augsburg University Auggies women's hockey team in 2010, where she remained through last season.
As noted in the press release from the WCHA, McAteer also assisted with Augsburg's Athletics Department administrative duties including serving as the Assistant NCAA Compliance Director and as a Student Athlete Advisory Committee Advisor. She has also served on multiple NCAA committees including the Division I Women's Ice Hockey Championship Committee and Division I & II Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee.
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