News & Articles

USA | The Northland Olympic women’s hockey lineup for Team USA features veteran forward Julie Chu, who joined the UMD Bulldog  coaching staff as an assistant in 2007. During her one year on the Bulldog bench she helped the team win their fourth NCAA National Championship title in 2008.  Sochi marks the fourth Olympic Games for Chu, who has a remarkable career behind already after winning a Patty Kazmaier Award, World Championship gold and silver medals and Olympic silver and bronze medals. She has everything a female hockey player could dream of, but one thing - an Olympic Gold Medal.
Another Northland connection in Sochi will be Robb Stauber, who serves as the Goaltending Coach and Scout of Team USA. First-timer at the Olympics, Stauber, who was born in Duluth and worked with the internationally loaded Bulldog women’s hockey powerhouse between 2004-2008, won an NCAA title with UMD in 2008.
CANADA | This team that has not lost a game in the last three Olympics, is lead by its recently crowned captain, a former Bulldog captain and Assistant Coach Caroline Ouellette. Better known as “Frenchie” among her Bulldog teammates, Ouellette played three years (2002-2005) with UMD, tallying a total of 229 points. In her freshman year, she helped UMD win its third NCAA National Championship title (2003) at home. After competing with Team Canada at the 2006 Olympic Games, Ouellette returned to UMD in Assistant Coach capacity for two seasons 2006-2008, winning an NCAA title on the Bulldog bench in 2008. This three-time Olympic gold medalist continues to bring success to each team she is part of and will be fun to watch in Sochi as she takes the Olympic stage first time as a captain.    
Team Canada also features two other former Bulldog standouts, forward Haley Irwin and defenseman Jocelyne Larocque.  Haley Irwin, a Thunder Bay native, helped the Bulldogs win the 2008 NCAA title and earned her the WCHA Rookie of the Year honors. After her sophomore year, Irwin made the 2010 Olympic Team and got to win her first Olympic gold medal in front of a sold out home crowd in Vancouver. Irwin then returned to the Bulldogs, and finished her four-year college career with over 200 points (2007-2009, 2010-2012).  Jocelyne Larocque, who will be experiencing her first ever Olympics in Sochi, has been one of the most decorated Bulldog defenseman (2007-2011) of all time. During her freshman year, Larocque helped the Bulldogs win an NCAA title and during her career she was honored twice as the First Team All-American defenseman. In 2010, Larocque helped the Bulldogs win their fifth NCAA title, after she was cut from the Canadian Olympic team.
RUSSIA | Alexandra “Sasha” Vafina and Iya Gavrilova will be two of Russia’s leading forces as they compete on their home ice under some built-in pressure. Vafina played with the Bulldogs last year (2012-2013) and will be making her second Olympic appearance in Sochi.  Gavrilova, who played 26 games with the Bulldogs, scoring a total of 41 points in 2007-2008 will be experiencing her third Olympics. Russia finished 6th in Vancouver (2010) and then won bronze last year at the 2013 World Champioships.  Needless to say, Russia is both very hungry and confident going after their first Olympic medal.
The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has made sure this team will be ready. They hired former NHL star Alexei Yashin as their General Manager and a brand new coaching staff.  They also had UMD Head Coach Shannon Miller mentor the Russian coaching staff during the past year. The Russians are not leaving anything to chance.
FINLAND | Tea Villila, one of the two current Bulldogs competing at the Olympics, will be making her Olympic debut in Sochi. Villila is in her junior year at UMD and will be UMD’s ninth Finnish Olympian in the program’s history. Villila, who has played for Finland since 2007, won World Championship bronze in 2011. She was also a member of this year’s Finnish squad, which beat USA at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid. The Finns’ confidence is fueled with that win and now with a solid roster featuring goaltender phenomena Nora Raty and number of great veteran players, Finland is a true contender in Sochi. Previously at the Olympics, Finland has won two bronze medals – in Nagano 1998 and Vancouver 2010.
GERMANY |  Former Bulldog netminder Jenny Harss will be playing for Germany at her second Olympics. Harss was one of the key contributors to UMD’s success in 2009-2010 season. She helped the Bulldogs capture it’s historical fifth NCAA National Championship title with 49 saves in a triple overtime victory against Cornell. In most of the major international tournaments Germany usually places between 5th and 9th and prior to Sochi has only qualified for the Olympics in 2002 and 2006.
SWEDEN | Team Sweden will have three former UMD players in the line-up this year, with Kim Martin-Hasson, Pernilla Winberg and Jenni Asserholt.  Martin is a four-time Olympian goaltender, who is famous in her home country for helping Sweden win Olympic silver in Turin (2006) after the ‘Mirakel’ upset versus USA. She was also a key factor in Sweden’s win over Finland in the bronze medal game in Salt Lake City Olympics (2002). Both Winberg and Asserholt will be competing in their third Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014) and along withKim Martin-Hasson will forever be remembered for being part of the historical win over USA in Turin. Sweden’s 2014 squad will be very different from its past four Olympic rosters, as two of their biggest scoring powers and leaders, former Bulldogs, Erika Holst and Maria Rooth recently retired.  
SWITZERLAND |  Two current Duluth college students, a Bulldog defenseman Lara Stalder (UMD) and Saints forward Nina Waidacher (College of St. Scholastica) will both be attending their first Olympics in Sochi. Stalder, who scored 21 points in 24 games already this season with the Bulldogs as a freshman, is third in UMD’s overall team scoring and number one amongst the defenseman. Junior forward Nina Waidacher is the first ever Olympian for the College of St. Scholastica. This season she is the nation’s leading scorer in Division III hockey with 36 points in 16 games. Waidacher’s little sister Isabelle, who is second in the nation’s scoring with 35 points, was selected as the first alternate for the Swiss team and will be staying in Duluth unless injuries on the team occur.  The Swiss team usually finishes between 5th and 8th place in the international competition, but recently has made great strides towards the podium, winning its first bronze at the 2012 World Championships.
These female hockey players with Northland connections are some of the most powerful in their sport – they are the ones getting a lot of ice time, being interviewed on TV, scoring the game winning goals and making incredible saves. These fine women will make you proud and there is a very good chance you might even know some of them personally. They have made friends here and contributed to our community as positive role models and as hard working students. These extremely talented individuals have helped UMD become a five-time NCAA National Champion program and shaped Duluth in to the Mecca of women’s hockey.