Karyn Bye-Dietz

Karyn Lynn Bye-Dietz (born May 18, 1971) is a retired ice hockey player. She was the alternate captain of the 1998 Winter Olympics gold-medal winning United States Women's Hockey Team.

Karyn Bye-Dietz
Born (1971-05-18) May 18, 1971
River Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Forward
ECAC team New Hampshire Wildcats (1989–1993)
National team  United States
Playing career 1989–2002
Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's ice hockey
Olympic games
1998 Nagano Tournament
2002 Salt Lake City Tournament
IIHF World Women's Championships
1992 Finland Tournament
1994 United States Tournament
1997 Canada Tournament
1999 Finland Tournament
2000 Canada Tournament
2001 United States Tournament

In 1998, she was featured on a Wheaties box. She entered the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2011 and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.

Playing career

Early years

Born May 18, 1971, in River Falls, Wisconsin, Bye-Dietz played for the River Falls Wildcats Boys High School Hockey team under the name of K.L. Bye to conceal her gender identity.[1][2] Although her father encouraged her to continue playing basketball, as she had done growing up, Bye-Dietz continued to play hockey.[3] The 1987–88 season she recorded 3 assists in her 18 games playing Junior Varsity Hockey [4] Her athletic ability and play earned a scholarship to the University of New Hampshire.[5]

NCAA

Bye-Dietz played for the New Hampshire Wildcats women's ice hockey program. She scored 164 points in 87 games for the Wildcats, leading the team all four years. As captain of the team during her junior and senior season, she twice led the Wildcats to the ECAC championships.[6]

She graduated from New Hampshire with a B.S. in Physical Education. From there, Bye-Dietz attended graduate school at Concordia University in Montreal. She played for the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey team while earning her Graduate Degree in Sports Administration.[4]

USA Hockey

Bye-Dietz made her national team debut with Team USA at the 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship. From there, she competed in five more tournaments, winning silver in all.[7]

In 1998, Bye-Dietz led the Team United States to their first Olympic gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. She led the team with five goals in six games and tied Cammi Granato and two others for the scoring lead with eight points.[8] She competed with Team USA again at the 2002 Winter Olympics where they won a silver medal.[7]

On December 16, 2010, she was selected to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame Class of 2011.[9]

Personal

She has worked for the Minnesota Wild in its grassroots program. Bye-Dietz teaches fitness classes at her local YMCA and previously coached her sons Mite Level 1 hockey team. As of 2010, she is also a color commentator for the Minnesota Girls State High School Hockey Tournament.[10]

Bye-Dietz married a strength and fitness coach at the University of Minnesota, and they have two children together.[5]

In 1998, she was featured on a Wheaties box.[2]

Awards and honors
  • 1995 Concordia University Fittest Female Athlete [11]
  • 1995 and 1998 USA Hockey Women 's Player of the Year Award (also known as the Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year award) [12]
  • She was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Hall of Fame in 1998.[6]

See also

References
  1. Greg Peters (February 24, 2018). "Karyn Bye: Do you believe in miracles?". River Falls Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  2. Blount, Rachel (December 1, 2009). "Hall inductions mark women's own miracle on ice in '98 Games". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  3. Lane, Jon (November 30, 2014). "Trailblazer Bye Dietz to enter U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame". NHL.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  4. "Karyn Bye Dietz". rfhalloffame.org. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  5. Hickey, Pat (December 5, 2014). "Former Concordia star Karyn Bye-Dietz inducted into U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  6. "Bye Announced as Part of IIHF Hall of Fame Class of 2011". unhwildcats.com. December 17, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. "KARYN BYE DIETZ". ushockeyhall.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  8. Pat Borzi. "It's time U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inducts its first woman". MinnPost.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-24. Retrieved 2010-12-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Burrows, Bob (February 3, 2010). "At-home Olympian". Hudson Observer. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-02-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Annual Awards – Through the Years". USA Hockey. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
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