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USA Hockey officially announces agreement with Women’s National Team

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey


By @MichaelCaples –

Tonight, USA Hockey officially released a statement saying that they have agreed to terms with the Women’s National Team, ending a boycott that lasted almost two weeks by the women’s roster.

The U.S. will hold a practice at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday at USA Hockey Arena, in preparation for the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which begins the next day in Plymouth.

The governing body and the Women’s National Team both agreed to keep financial terms of the deal private after lengthy discussions.

Per the agreement, there will be the creation of the Women’s High Performance Advisory Group of former and current players from the U.S. Women’s National Team program, along with volunteer and staff leadership, “to meet regularly to assist USA Hockey in efforts to advance girls’ and women’s hockey in all areas, including programming, marketing, promotion and fundraiser.” The advisory group will build on the work already done by USA Hockey’s Girls’ and Women’s Section for almost 30 years.

Quotes from both parties:

“Today reflects everyone coming together and compromising in order to reach a resolution for the betterment of the sport,” said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey. “We’ll now move forward together knowing we’ll look back on this day as one of the most positive in the history of USA Hockey.”

“Our sport is the big winner today,” said Meghan Duggan, captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “We stood up for what we thought was right and USA Hockey’s leadership listened. In the end, both sides came together. I’m proud of my teammates and can’t thank everyone who supported us enough. It’s time now to turn the page. We can’t wait to play in the World Championship later this week in front of our fans as we try and defend our gold medal.”

“We look forward to the future with great anticipation,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “This process has, in the end, made us better.”

“I’m glad we could come together and reach an arrangement that will have a positive and lasting impact,” said Hilary Knight, veteran forward of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “This is an inspirational time and we’re excited to get back on the ice and represent our country.”

“The action taken today is an important statement of USA Hockey’s commitment and support of our women’s national team program and female hockey overall,” said Donna Guariglia, treasurer of USA Hockey and former chair of USA Hockey’s Girls’ and Women’s Section.