Brian Durocher
Head coach | Boston University
At a storied Walter Brown Arena, this head coach has slowly forged Boston University into an elite Division 1 women’s program the past dozen years. In leading the Terriers, Durocher (Longmeadow, Mass.) won four straight Hockey East championships from 2012-15 as BU advanced to six consecutive NCAA tournaments. Durocher’s BU teams are always in the thick of it come playoff hockey.
Alex Carpenter
Forward | Team USA
The 2015 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) left an indelible impact on collegiate women’s hockey, shining at Boston College as recently as 2015-16. She skated with Team USA at the 2014 Olympics, earning a silver medal, and scored the game-winning OT goal at the 2016 Women’s World Hockey Championship.
Meghan Duggan
Forward | Team USA
It’s hard to find a more successful New Englander in women’s hockey than Meghan Duggan.
A longtime captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, she captured a silver medal at both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games and has won seven World Championships from 2008 to 2017. Meanwhile, during a four-year career at Wisconsin, she posted 238 points, the third most in program history. Along the way, she won the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award and helped the Badgers to three national championships.
But when the forward reflects on her career, she said she’d be nowhere without her Danvers, Mass., roots.
"When I think about the success I’ve had in my career and the leader, person and player I aspire to be, I think about my parents and everyone in my hometown and how they supported and encouraged me throughout this whole dream journey," Duggan said. "They’re at every game or cheering me on from afar, and it means so much."
Duggan’s influence on hockey in the region extends beyond the ice, though. She led a boycott over poor pay, one that almost led to the U.S. Women’s National Team boycotting the 2017 World Championships in Michigan. They eventually reached an improved pay agreement, and the stand is likely to trickle into similar women’s sports discussions.
Then, on the professional level, Duggan has played with the CWHL’s Boston Blades as well as the NWHL’s Buffalo Beauts and Boston Pride. Duggan finds those experiences particularly rewarding, largely because they show young girls that there’s a future in the sport.
"Being able to be strong, powerful female role models to these girls is so important," Duggan said. "That we have that opportunity every year now is so important. Women’s hockey is on the rise with everything that has gone on in the last two to five years; the visibility has increased."
Through all those accomplishments, one of Duggan’s biggest hopes is that more will follow in her footsteps. Regardless of whether she’s a Bostonian like herself, Duggan has a simple message.
"If you want to advance in anything you do and in sport, make yourself uncomfortable," Duggan said. "Whether it’s where you are, how hard you’re training, who you surround yourself with, it’s pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. It’s working on skills you’re not well versed in, and only then will you get better."
— JONATHAN SIGAL
Hilary Knight
Forward | Team USA
A California native who started playing hockey in Illinois but found her hockey groove in Hanover, N.H., and Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, Knight has played an invaluable role in helping grow professional women’s hockey in Massachusetts. She spent three years playing for the CWHL’s Boston Blades, then played for the NWHL’s Boston Pride during the 2016-17 season. A role model for thousands of young girls, the Team USA forward has made Beantown her adopted home.
Katie King
Head coach | Boston College
Sometimes you have to let the results speak for themselves, and King’s body of work at Boston College speaks volumes. She’s directed the Eagles to six Frozen Fours, four Hockey East regular-season titles, three Hockey East tournament titles and five Beanpot titles. The program was sub.-500 before King, a Salem, N.H., native, arrived on campus.
Katey Stone
Head coach | Harvard
At Harvard, Stone (Watertown, Conn.) has enjoyed a storied head-coaching career, one that includes six Frozen Four berths, 11 Beanpot titles and seven ECAC regular-season championships. Her influence, though, extends to the 2014 Winter Olympics, where was the first-ever female head coach of a USA Hockey team in the quadrennial games. She starred at UNH in her playing days.
