Stone Named Head Coach of U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team

Though the Summer Olympics are just around the corner, one Harvard affiliate is already making big news with regards to the 2014 Winter Games.

At USA Hockey's 75th Anniversary Gala on Friday, Crimson women’s hockey coach Katey Stone was named the head coach for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. Stone, already the head coach of the U.S. women’s national squad, will become the first female leader of Team USA in Olympic history during the games in Sochi, Russia.

The Olympics will present a new challenge for Stone, who has already led teams to victories in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships, the IIHF Twelve Nations Cup, and the Four Nations Cup during the course of her prestigious career.

"Katey knows what it takes to build gold-medal teams," Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey, said in a statement.  "We're very excited to have her continue to lead our U.S. women's national team up to and through the 2014 Olympic Winter Games."

After coaching the national team at the 2013 IIHF World Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Stone will be looking to help bring an Olympic championship back to the United States for the first time since 1998, the first year women’s hockey was included in the Games. Since then, the American women have won the silver medal in 2002, the bronze in 2006, and the silver again in 2010.

To help drive her attempt put the program back on top, Stone will likely have at her disposal a collection of some of her present and past players. Julie Chu ’07 currently serves as captain of the national team and rising senior Josephine Pucci is a defenseman on the squad, which recently lost its all-time games played leader, Angela Ruggiero '02-04, to retirement.

The winningest coach in the history of Division I women’s hockey, Stone has been at the helm of the Crimson for all 18 seasons of her illustrious career. Now, a new challenge lies ahead—leading Team USA for at least one.