Olympic gold medalist hired as women’s hockey coach

James Grega, Jr.
Sun, 12 Apr 2015 18:36:08 +0000
Ice Hockey, Sports, hockey, jenny potter, ohio state, Team usa, trinity college, women's hockey

USA’s Jenny Potter (12), of Anoka, Minnesota, carries her daughter Madison after the USA women’s hockey team beat Finland 4-0 to win the bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, on Monday, February 20, 2006. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

Just over a month after former Ohio State women’s hockey coach Nate Handrahan resigned, the Buckeyes have found his replacement.

Jenny Potter will become the third head coach in the program’s history, OSU announced Sunday.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Jenny Potter to the Ohio State family as the head coach of the women’s hockey program,” Shaun Richard, associate athletics director for sport administration, said in an OSU press release. “Her experience in the sport of hockey as a highly decorated player both at the NCAA and Olympic level will give the student-athletes an instant ‘winners’ mentality.”

Potter, who most recently was the head coach at Trinity College, is an Olympic gold medalist as a member of Team USA in the 1998 games.

She also earned a silver medal as a part of the 2002 and 2010 teams and earned a bronze medal in 2006 to go along with a NCAA national title in 2003 as a member of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

“I am very excited for this opportunity,” Potter said in the press release. “The Ohio State University has a storied tradition of academic and athletic excellence, and I look forward to contributing to this standard of excellence. I am proud to be a Buckeye, and I look forward to coaching and mentoring these young women.”

As a player at Minnesota Duluth, Potter set the program’s scoring record, and currently holds a share of the NCAA’s single-game goals record at six. She was inducted into the Bulldog’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Her coaching career began in 1997 with the Community Olympic Development Program and progressed to two high school stops before she moved on to coach at Trinity. Potter is the co-owner of Potter’s Pure Hockey, which puts on hockey camps for a variety of age groups.

Potter’s hiring comes after the resignation of Handrahan, who was reportedly being investigated by the university for “inappropriate and unprofessional conduct,” according to The Columbus Dispatch. Former assistant coach Keith Maurice also resigned amid the investigation.

The Buckeyes are coming off of a 17-16-3 season with an 11-12-3 mark in WCHA play, winning just one of its last six games.