USA Hockey announced Monday that Minnesota Duluth head coach Maura Crowell will return as head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team and U.S. Under-18 Women’s Select Team for the 2019-20 season.
Joel Johnson, associate head coach at Minnesota, will again serve as head coach of the 2019 U.S. Under-22 Women’s Select Team.
“We’re excited to have Maura and Joel at the helm of our U18 and U22 teams again for the upcoming season,” said USA Hockey director of women’s national team programs Katie Million in a statement. “We’ve got a fantastic coaching staff here that brings vast experience. We’re looking forward to getting a new season underway this summer in Lake Placid.”
Joining Crowell as U18 assistant coaches will be former Wisconsin standout Brianna Decker, member of the world championship gold medal-winning 2019 U.S. Women’s National Team, Holy Cross associate head coach Meredith Roth and Union head coach Josh Sciba. The staff will lead Team USA at both the 2019 Under-18 Series again Canada from Aug. 15-18 in Lake Placid, N.Y., as well as at the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, set to take place in January 2020 at a location to be determined.
Joining Johnson as U22 assistant coaches will be Boston College associate head coach Courtney Kennedy and Holy Cross head coach Katie Lachapelle. The staff will lead the U.S. Under-22 Women’s Select Team at the 2019 Under-22 Series versus Canada, which will be held Aug. 15-18 in Lake Placid.
The 2019 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival will take place Aug. 5-14 in Lake Placid, ahead of the 2019 Under-18 and Under-22 Series against Canada, and all of the above named coaches will be part of the festival staff.
