RPI alums to face Olympic squad
TROY, N.Y. » RPI alums Alexa Gruschow and Jordan Smelker have been named to the National Women’s Hockey League squad that will face the U. S. Olympic team on Jan. 13 and 15 in preparation for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Team NWHL GM Hayley Moore selected the team in consultation with the coaches of all four NWHL clubs. The team will be led by Riveters head coach Chad Wiseman, with assistance from Boston coaches Thomas Poeck and Lindsay Berman.
Of the twelve forwards for Team NWHL, ten are American, while Babstock and Jones are Canadian. All played Division I hockey in the U.S., with eight different U. S. colleges represented; Boston College, Harvard and RPI have two players each. The average age of the 12 Team NWHL forwards is 25 years.
The current scoring leader in the NWHL, playing with the Metropolitan Riviters has eight goals and six assists to date continues to be a prolific scorer, finishing with 93 points during her career at RPI (46 goals, 47 assists) in 133 games.
“I am honored and appreciative to be selected to represent Team NWHL in Florida,” Alexa Gruschow said. “It will be an exciting experience for the players, the fans, the sport, and everyone involved. I am glad that we were presented with this unique opportunity, and I know that we will enjoy it and show the fans some good games!
“Hopefully we can help Team USA get in some last-minute preparation before they depart for the Olympics. It will be a special moment to be able to personally wish Team USA good luck before they head out to win the gold. It will be fun to see some familiar faces that played in the NWHL last year and catch up with friends. It will also be neat to be playing on the ice with these girls rather than just watching their games on TV. Also, a couple days in Florida sounds pretty nice to me”!”
Smelker, the former RPI captain her senior season ans the team’s MVP and finalist for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Award is in her third year with the Boston Pride.
“I was not expecting to get the call so I was really excited when I found out!,” Jordan Smelker said. “I’m grateful that I get to participate in the event. As we all know the Olympics are only every four years so this kind of opportunity doesn’t present itself very often. My next thought was that I should probably lay off the Christmas cookies…”
The exhibition contests will be held 6:15 pm on Saturday, Jan. 13 and 2:15 pmonMonday, Jan. 15 at the U.S. team’s training complex at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Florida.