Director of Athletics Michael Renwick has announced the hiring of Jennifer Potter to be the new Trinity College Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach.
Potter, a four-time Olympic medalist and regarded as one of the greatest female hockey players of all time, brings 16 years of coaching experience from the youth to the elite levels to a Bantam squad that has made seven New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament appearances in the last nine years including an NCAA Tournament berth in 2010. Trinity was 15-7-3 last season under Carson Duggan who resigned after two seasons to become an assistant coach at Ohio State.
“It is not every day that you get to add a person like Jenny Potter to your athletic staff,” said Renwick. “I am looking very forward to the implementation of her vision for our women's ice hockey program and her mentorship of our student-athletes. Her overall life experiences will bring a very real world outlook to the mentoring of our student-athletes. She will be a great addition to the College and our staff.”
Potter attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth for three years and the University of Minnesota for one year, earning All-American and Academic All-American status in all four collegiate seasons. In addition, she set both a program record for goals scored with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and an NCAA record for goals in a game with six. Potter led the Bulldogs to a National Championship title in 2002-03 and was the nation’s leading scorer in 1999-00. A two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) MVP, Potter earned her bachelor’s degree from Minnesota-Duluth in organizational behavior management in 2004.
"I want to thank President Jones and Athletic Director Michael Renwick for the opportunity to guide and mentor the young women in the Trinity Bantam hockey program," said Potter.
"I fell in love with Trinity the minute I stepped on campus and I am so excited to begin helping our players reach their full potential on and off the ice."
Potter medaled in each of her Olympic appearances, helping Team USA earn a gold medal in the 1998 Olympic Games, silver medals in 2002 and 2010, and a bronze medal in 2006. In the 2010 Olympics, Potter led the United States in scoring and became the first Olympic player to net hat tricks in back-to-back games. That year, she also served as Athletic Director and Team Captain of Team USA hockey. In addition, Potter helped Team USA win World Championship titles in 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2011, and was the Player of the Year for Canada’s Western Women’s Hockey League in 2009. Potter has coached at Maple Grove High School and Coon Rapids High School in her native Minnesota over the last nine years, and coached the U-14 West Coast Select Team in the European Tour last season. In 1998, she co-founded Potters Pure Hockey, where she has trained more than 30 Olympians and over a dozen NHL Draft Picks. Potter also has experience coaching in the Olympic Development Program.
Potter has extensive public speaking and mentoring experience. She has been profiled by numerous national publications, including the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and People Magazine, and she has appeared on talk shows, including the Today Show, the Ellen DeGeneres Show (twice), David Letterman, and several other national and local networks.
