Northeastern women’s hockey coach Laura Schuler resigns
"Laura assumed the leadership of our women’s ice hockey program at a difficult time in the program’s history," said Northeastern Athletics Director Peter Roby. "Anyone who has paid attention can attest to the progress our women's hockey program has made during Laura’s tenure and for that I am grateful. Laura cares deeply about Northeastern as an alum and former ice hockey player and that feeling is mutual. We wish her the best of luck as she continues her career at Minnesota-Duluth."
Schuler led the Huskies for the past four seasons. She significantly improved Northeastern’s recruiting efforts and helped the team become more competitive on the ice. Northeastern had two Hockey East All-Rookie selections in 2007-08 – forward Kristi Kehoe and goalie Leah Sulyma – and four of Northeastern's top five scorers were underclassmen last season. Northeastern posted a 23-99-10 overall record and an 18-58-7 record in Hockey East over Schuler’s four seasons.
Prior to Northeastern, Schuler was head coach at UMass Boston for three seasons. She started the program, recruiting players in her first season of 2001-02, coached the team in club status the following year and led the team in its first varsity season in 2003-04. In their first varsity season, the Beacons posted a 13-12-1 record and made it to the ECAC semifinals. Schuler was named ECAC East Coach of the Year.
Schuler, who graduated from NU in 1994, played on the Canadian National team for 11 years and in 1998 won a silver medal for Canada in the first-ever Olympic women's ice hockey competition in Nagano, Japan. During her tenure, the Canadian National team also won World Championship titles in 1990, '92 and '97 as well as several other world-class tournaments, including the Four Nations Cup and Pacific Rim Tournament.
While Schuler played for Northeastern from 1989-93, the Huskies compiled a 74-24-5 record and qualified for the playoffs every year. She was team captain as a senior. Over her collegiate career, Schuler netted 64 goals, 57 assists and 121 points, numbers that rank among Northeastern’s all-time best. She led the team with 20 goals, 13 assists and 33 points during the 1990-91 season. Schuler earned her bachelor’s degree in Cardiovascular Health and Exercise from Northeastern and continued her studies in Exercise Science at the University of Toronto. She is originally from Scarborough, Ontario.
April 21, 2008
Boston, MALaura Schuler has resigned as head coach of the Northeastern University women's hockey team, effective May 28, to become the head assistant coach of women's hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She will stay aboard through May to help with the transition the program. The search for a replacement will begin immediately.
