RMU’s Brianne McLaughlin named to 2014 Olympic hockey roster

Former Robert Morris University women’s hockey goaltender Brianne McLaughlin has made the U.S. women’s national squad that will compete for gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

McLaughlin will make her second appearance in the Olympics after being named to the 25-player national team roster on Monday by USA Hockey. She participated in a seven-day selection camp that began June 17 in Lake Placid, N.Y. and included 41 players.

This is McLaughlin’s fifth time competing in a major international event for the U.S. women’s national hockey team. She was a part of the 2011 and 2013 teams that won gold at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championships as well as the 2012 team that won silver.

Brianne McLaughlin will once again don the red, white & blue in the Winter Olympics. (Photo: USA Hockey)

She now sets her eyes on adding another Olympic medal to her collection after  being a member of the silver-winning team from the 2010 games in Vancouver.

During her playing career at RMU, McLaughlin competed in 120 games for the Colonials from 2005 to 2009. She stopped an NCAA-record 3,809 shots and was a four-time All-College Hockey America honoree. She holds program records in saves with 3,809, saves per game with 31.74 and shutouts with eight. Brianne recorded at least 40 saves in 27 games for the Colonials, and turned away at least 50 shots on eight occasions.

McLaughlin has spent the past two years behind the bench for the Colonials as an assistant coach. In the 2011-2012 season, McLaughlin played a role in the Colonials’ progress on the defensive end as RMU was one of eight teams nationally to allow fewer than two goals per game. She will resign her position to focus on preparing for the Olympics.

McLaughlin is among 12 returning players from previous Olympic teams. Her fellow goaltenders are Molly Schaus, who played her college hockey for Boston College, and Jessie Vetter from the University of Wisconsin.

The 25-player roster ranges in age from 16 to 31 with Jincy Dunne from O’Fallon, Mo., the youngest and former Patty Kazmaier Award winner Julie Chu as the oldest. In total, the rostered players have represented the United States in 1,384 games in international competitions between 1999 and 2013.

McLaughlin, who is from Sheffield, Ohio, is the only student-athlete from RMU to compete in the Olympic Games. She graduated from Robert Morris in 2011 with a degree in nursing.