Laura Halldorson
| Biographical details | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | January 12, 1963 Plymouth, Minnesota, US | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Princeton University | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | |||||||||||||||
| 1981–1985 | Princeton Tigers | ||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||||||||||||||
| 1988–1990 | Princeton (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1997 | Colby | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2007 | Minnesota | ||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Overall | Minnesota, 278–67–22 | ||||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||
| Championships | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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]
Playing career
[edit]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
[edit]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 AHCA 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
[edit]| Year | School | Wins | Losses | Ties | League | Postseason |
| 1997–98 | Minnesota | 21 | 7 | 3 | AWCHA | Fourth |
| 1998–99 | Minnesota | 29 | 4 | 3 | AWCHA | Third |
| 1999–2000 | Minnesota | 32 | 6 | 1 | AWCHA | AWCHA Champions |
| 2000–01 | Minnesota | 23 | 9 | 2 | WCHA | WCHA Champions |
| 2001–02 | Minnesota | 28 | 4 | 6 | WCHA | WCHA Champions, NCAA Frozen Four |
| 2002–03 | Minnesota | 27 | 8 | 1 | WCHA | NCAA Frozen Four |
| 2003–04 | Minnesota | 30 | 4 | 2 | WCHA | NCAA Champions |
| 2004–05 | Minnesota | 36 | 2 | 2 | WCHA | NCAA Champions |
| 2005–06 | Minnesota | 29 | 11 | 1 | WCHA | NCAA Frozen Four |
| 2006–07 | Minnesota | 23 | 12 | 1 | WCHA | Second, WCHA Tournament |
Awards and honors
[edit]- 1996 ECAC Co-Coach of the Year honors[8]
- New England Hockey Writers’ 1996 Coach of the Year[9]
- 3× AHCA Coach of the Year (1998, 2002, 2004)[10]
- 2011 AHCA Women's Ice Hockey Founders Award[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Women's Hockey Year-by-Year Records / Coaching History". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ MacDonald, James (January 7, 2010). "State of Hockey Ambassadors: Laura Halldorson". Minnesota Wild. NHL. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ "Awards – Division I Women's Coach". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ "Krissy Wendell". sportsreference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ "Laura Halldorson Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Univ. Of Minnesota 1997-1998 - Roster, Stats & more". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Women's Ice Hockey". Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Archived email posts to women's hockey mailing list". Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Coach of the Year Awards". Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "The Women's Ice Hockey Founders Award". Retrieved March 19, 2024.