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Caroline Park '11 Named to Unified Korean Olympic Women's Hockey Team
January 23, 2018 | Women's Ice Hockey
Former Princeton women's hockey player Caroline Park '11 has been named to the unified Korean hockey team for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
Park played in 102 career games for the Tigers and tallied three goals and 10 assists. She was twice named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team and helped Princeton reach the ECAC Quarterfinals all four years. With a four-year record 61-51-13, the Tigers posted a 50-29-9 mark in ECAC Hockey games.
Park is currently taking a leave of absence from medical school and has been training with the team in South Korea at the National Training Center.
It was announced on Jan. 17 that a special agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that 12 North Korean players will join the host team South Korea to form a united team. They will be allowed an expanded roster of 35 with 22 players dressing for each game. Three northern players will be selected for each game by head coach Sarah Murray (Minnesota Duluth '10).
Korea is one of eight teams in the women's hockey tournament and is in Group B for the preliminary round, along with Sweden, Switzerland and Japan.
Park and Korea will face Switzerland in the first game on Feb. 10, while an exhibition game with Sweden is schedule the day before the opening ceremonies.
"This has been an incredible experience and I'm extremely proud to represent PWIH as we grow the sport in South Korea," Park said. "This is the first time South Korea has ever had an ice hockey team compete in the Olympics, so there is still a lot of room for development, but this will be an incredible opportunity for the sport to gain exposure in a country dominated by speed skating and figure skating. I'm fortunate to be able to share my experiences of playing hockey growing up in Canada and at Princeton, and it's been truly rewarding to see young girls in Korea learn about the sport and get excited about lacing up some hockey skates. February will be an unforgettable month and I hope you will tune in and support the 2018 Winter Olympics!"