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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Katey Stone(Arlington, Mass.) has been named head coach of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, it was announced tonight by USA Hockey during its 75th Anniversary Gala. Stone, who became extensively involved with the U.S. Women’s National Team Program in 2006, completed her 18th season as head women’s ice hockey coach at Harvard University in 2012. Her 378 career wins is tops among active coaches in NCAA Division I.
“Katey knows what it takes to build gold-medal teams,” said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. “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.”
Stone will guide the U.S. Women’s National Team through the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, including at the Four Nations Cup this November in Finland; at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Ottawa, Ontario; and in other scheduled games as part of the build-up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
“We are confident in Katey’s ability to continue to effectively lead and develop this team through the Olympics,”said Reagan Carey, director of women’s hockey for USA Hockey. “She will be able to leverage and build on all of the work that she and our players have invested the last two years to prepare for gold in 2014.”
Stone most recently served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team that captured the silver medal at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Burlington, Vt. A year earlier, Stone guided the U.S. to what was at the time its third straight gold medal at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland.
“Katey is a proven winner and is completely invested in helping the U.S. win the gold medal,” said Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey and chair of the organization’s international council. “We’re extremely pleased to have her lead our team in Sochi.”
She also led the U.S. to the gold medal at the first-ever IIHF Women’s World Under-18 Championship in 2008, and coached the U.S. entry in the Under-18 Series (2007) and the Under-22 Series (2006).
In addition, Stone guided Team USA to a pair of first-place finishes at the Four Nations Cup, initially in 2008 when the team captured the title for the first time since 2003, and again in 2011.
“I’ve known Katey a long time,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that our team will be well-prepared every step of the way under her leadership.”
Along with her accomplishments on the international stage, she has led Harvard to a 378-164-32 (.686) record in her tenure, which included the 1999 American Women’s Collegiate Hockey Alliance national championship, three straight appearances in the NCAA championship game (2003-05), nine NCAA tournament appearances in the event’s 12-year history, six ECAC Hockey regular-season titles, five ECAC Hockey tournament championships, five Ivy League titles and 10 Beanpot championships.
In her 18-year tenure at Harvard, Stone has coached some of the best athletes in the world including nine Olympians (five who competed in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games) and six of the 15 winners of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually to the nation’s best collegiate women’s hockey player.
Stone, who appeared 33rd on New England Hockey Journal’s “Top 50 Most Influential People in New England Hockey” in 2009, has been an important voice in the sport of women’s hockey. She has served as a member of the NCAA championship committee, a member of the NCAA rules committee, a member of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award selection committee and president of American Women’s Hockey Coaches Association.
Stone graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1989 with a degree in physical education. She was a captain and four-year letter winner in both hockey and lacrosse for the Wildcats. Stone helped the hockey team win back-to-back ECAC championships (1986-87) and was a member of the lacrosse team that captured an NCAA title in 1985. She earned All-ECAC honors in hockey and was a two-time All-America selection in lacrosse.
Before coaching at Harvard, Stone served as assistant athletic director at Tabor Academy (Mass.) and had coaching stints at Northfield Mount Hermon School (Mass.) and Phillips Exeter Academy (N.H.).
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