Road to PyeongChang Winds Through The Heights

The road to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea began for most at a very young age and wound through many places along the way.

For five members of the United States Women's Hockey Team, an integral portion of their paths were paved at The Heights.

From the storied alums to the freshman phenom, the Eagles will be well represented, with Emily Pfalzer '15, Haley Skarupa '16, Megan Keller '19, Kali Flanagan '19 and Cayla Barnes '22 all earning the honor of representing their country in the quest for gold.

A convocation of this magnitude has helped pump a little extra wind beneath the wings as all five players embark on their first Olympic experience.

"To be able to represent your country, and also with some of your best friends and the girls you played college hockey with, is really special," said Keller. "I'm so happy that we get to do this together and be able to go and compete for a gold medal on the Olympic stage while representing our country and also representing Boston College."

"It's very nice that there's a larger number of us and that we can travel in a pack if we would like to," Skarupa, whose 244 points rank second in program history, noted. "It's really cool because we've shared so many experiences in college and we've all worked so hard together to get to this point."

After months of training in Wesley Chapel, Florida, the players depart for South Korea today, mindful of how their time at Boston College has helped shape them into Olympic athletes, grateful for the opportunities that the program has and continues to provide.

And for each of the players, not a moment has been lost on the fact that they have had the fortuitous chance to learn under the tutelage of head coach Katie Crowley, who won gold as a player in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and associate head coach Courtney Kennedy, who made two Olympics appearances for Team USA.

"Court and Kinger are unbelievable coaches," Flanagan, a Burlington, Mass. native said. "They believe in you, they trust you. The whole time I've been there they knew that I could get to this point. Having their belief in me has been unbelievable. Of course, they have so much wisdom, and so much to share with us from their past experiences. It's really cool to have coaches with National Team and Olympic Team experience. They're amazing people and amazing coaches. It's easy to get better at BC."

"I can't thank them enough, Court and Kinger, for how much work they've put into our teams over the years," expressed Pfalzer, a 2015 All-American and a two-time Hockey East Best Defenseman (2014, 2015). "Having Court on defense, obviously she's played in the Olympics, hearing her advice and tips she's giving me over the years, I can't thank them enough for that."

Even for Barnes, who as a freshman has spent only a few months on campus, playing in five games for the Eagles before being called to the National Team in October, the time spent with the program has proved vital.

"Our coaches are amazing. Court and King really do anything to help you succeed and help you reach your dreams and goals," said Barnes, who at 19 years, 1 month and 4 days old will be the youngest player on the National Team when the puck drops in Team USA's opening game versus Finland. "They've known that this is what I want to do, this is my dream and my goal. They'd come out early with me, and we have great players too who are real competitive, a lot of National Team experience. Every day you get better at practice, every game we play together it's always something new and something exciting. That's what's so awesome about the group."

Though this grand stage will be new for all five players, each has spent time with various National Teams where they have all captured gold medals along the way.

Much of this current formation of the Team USA roster has been training in Florida since August, hitting the ice for 9:30 a.m. practices every day, followed by off-ice training sessions and meetings, all aimed at sharpening the team's skill set to the finest of points.

Now their bags are packed, and the anticipation is ratcheting up to extreme levels as they finally approach a moment that they have trained all of their life for, confident that they have what it takes to bring home the first gold for the United States since 1998.

"We've been working hard all year and we're now excited to get everything going," said Pfalzer. "We've been taking it day-by-day and we'll take it game-by-game and focus on one day at a time and doing our best that day. I think that will help us out in the end."

"It's pretty surreal," Keller concluded. "I remember wanting to represent my country on the Olympic stage for a long time now, and watching it growing up with my family. I remember watching the girls before me be able to do it, and now that it's finally come, it's really exciting. I can't wait."

Road to PyeongChang Winds Through The Heights

Players Mentioned

Cayla Barnes

Kali Flanagan

Megan Keller

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