Laura Halldorson

Laura Halldorson (born January 12, 1963) is an American retired women's college ice hockey player and head coach. She was the first head coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Women's Hockey team, leading the new team to national prominence in her ten seasons. Her Minnesota record was 278–67–22, a winning percentage of .787. During that time, the Gophers won three national championships and four Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) championships, averaged 28 wins per season, and appeared in eight of ten national championship tournaments.[1]

Laura Halldorson
Biographical details
Born (1963-01-12) January 12, 1963
Plymouth, Minnesota, US
Alma materPrinceton University
Playing career
1981–1985Princeton Tigers
Position(s)Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1988–1990Princeton (assistant)
1990–1997Colby
1997–2007Minnesota
Head coaching record
OverallMinnesota, 278–67–22
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • 1996 ECAC Co-Coach of the Year
  • 1998 AHCA Women's Coach of the Year
  • 2002 AHCA Women's Coach of the Year
  • 2004 AHCA Women's Coach of the Year
  • 2011 AHCA Founders Award

Playing career

She played for the Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey program with Patty Kazmaier. In addition, she played with Cindy Curley and Lauren Apollo on the earliest U.S. National teams, including at the 1987 World Women's Hockey Tournament.[2]

Coaching career

After working on her thesis at Princeton, Halldorson coached girls' volleyball, basketball and softball through the Wayzata School District in Wayzata, Minnesota. In 1987, Princeton head coach Bob Ewell contacted Halldorson and asked her to become an assistant coach with the Tigers' program.[3]

Halldorson later became a head coach at Colby College. As head coach of the White Mules, the team was one of only two non-Division I schools in the 12-team Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. In 1995–96, Halldorson led the White Mules to a 12-9-1 overall record.

On November 2, 1997, Halldorson coached her first game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The team played in front of a women’s intercollegiate hockey record crowd of 6,854. Halldorson was successful in leading the Gophers to winning its inaugural game. The result was an 8-0 triumph over Augsburg College. In the postseason, the Gophers finished fourth in the first-ever women’s ice hockey national championship. Halldorson was named the inaugural American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Division I Women’s Coach of the Year in 1998.[4]

On November 2, 2002, Halldorson won her 200th career game. Her last season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers was in 2006–07. Halldorson led the Golden Gophers to a third-place finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season. In the postseason, her team defeated Bemidji State in the first round. In the semi-finals, the Gophers defeated Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 in overtime to advance to their fifth-straight WCHA Championship game. The WCHA championship would be Halldorson’s last game as Gophers coach. It was a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin in the title game. Halldorson’s record was 23-12-1 overall and 17-10-1 in conference office. Despite losing the WCHA championship, the Gophers were ranked ninth overall nationally.

Five of the players she coached at Minnesota would later become Olympians: Natalie Darwitz, Courtney Kennedy, Lyndsay Wall, Kelly Stephens, and Krissy Wendell.[5]

Coaching record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

YearWinsLossesTiesPostseason
2006-0723121Second, WCHA Tournament
2005-0629111NCAA Frozen Four
2004-053622NCAA Champions
2003-043042NCAA Champions
2002-032781NCAA Frozen Four
2001-022846WCHA Champions, NCAA Frozen Four
2000-012392WCHA Champions
1999-003261First*
1998-992943Third*
1997-982173Fourth*

[6]

  • AWCHA Tournament from 1999-2000; NCAA took over the national tournament in 2001. From 2001 through 2004, the tournament consisted of a Final Four. The tournament expanded to eight teams in 2005.[7]

Awards and honors
  • 1996 ECAC Co-Coach of the Year honors
  • New England Hockey Writers’ 1996 Coach of the Year.
  • 1998 American Hockey Coaches Association Women’s Coach of the Year.
  • 2002 and 2004 AHCA Coach of the Year[8]
  • 2011 AHCA Women's Ice Hockey Founders Award[9]

See also

References
  1. "Women's Hockey Year-by-Year Records / Coaching History". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  2. Pat Borzi. "It's time U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inducts its first woman". MinnPost.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  3. MacDonald, James (January 7, 2010). "State of Hockey Ambassadors: Laura Halldorson". Minnesota Wild. NHL. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  4. "Awards – Division I Women's Coach". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  5. "Krissy Wendell". sportsreference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  6. "Laura Halldorson Year by Year record". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  7. http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=41204&SPID=3323&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=1362094%5B%5D
  8. http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/w_icehockey_rb/2010/Awards.pdf
  9. http://www.ahcahockey.com/news/1011/0120awa.html
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.