Birchard-Kessel Named Assistant Women's Hockey Coach

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Women's Ice Hockey

October 17, 3PM

at UConn

Women's Ice Hockey

October 18, 1PM

at UConn

Women's Ice Hockey

October 24, 6PM

at Brown

Providence, R.I.

Women's Ice Hockey

October 25, 3PM

at Yale

New Haven, Conn.

Women's Ice Hockey

October 31, 3PM

vs RPI

Princeton, N.J.

Princeton head coach of women's hockey Cara Morey announces the finishing touch to her coaching staff, with the addition of Courtney Birchard-Kessel.

"Courtney is a rising star in the coaching world," Morey said. "She was an outstanding player and she brings the same passion and energy to her coaching. She has an elite knowledge of the game and she knows what it takes to win at the highest level. We are so lucky to have Courtney rounding out our staff here at Princeton!"

"I could not be more thrilled to join the Princeton family," Birchard-Kessel said." I had the privilege of meeting Cara while I was trying out for the Canadian Women's National Team and I knew from that moment that she was someone I would one day love to coach with. I look forward to sharing my experiences with the players and help them reach their dreams."

Birchard-Kessel brings not only international experience to Princeton but also professional league proficiency, having been the head coach of the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) last season. She led Toronto to the semifinals of the Clarkson Cup in just her first year.

An assistant coach for the gold medal winning Hockey Canada U18 Team in 2018-19, Birchard-Kessel was also an assistant coach for Hockey Canada's National Development Team in 2018. In addition she has been an assistant coach and private skills instructor with the Oakville Hornets Midget AA since 2014.

A 2011 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Birchard-Kessel captained the Wildcats during her senior year. A second-team All-America selection in 2010, she was also a candidate for the Patty Kazmaier Award. A first-team All-Hockey East pick, she was also named to the league's all-tournament and all-academic teams.

Birchard-Kessel is no stranger to Hockey Canada having been involved with the organization as a player for more than a decade. She played in three IIHF World Championships with Canada, winning gold in 2012 and silver in both 2013 and 2015. She was also a part of seven Four Nations Cup tournaments with Canada from 2010-2016 – finishing with either a gold or silver medal each year. In addition she was on the U22 National Team that won gold at the 2011 Women's Nation's Cup (formerly known as the Air Canada and MLP Nations Cup).

She continued her professional league career in the CWHL playing for the Brampton Thunder from 2011-17. She was named the Rookie of the Year in 2012 and was a two-time All-Star. In 2017-18 she played for Linkoping HC (Sweden) and Ice Dream Kosice (Slovakia) before earning her national coaching certificate and Hockey Canada coaching certificate.

Princeton finished tied for second in the ECAC Hockey standings this season after sitting in first place in the standings for the first 16 weeks of the season. The squad earned its highest ranking in program history, fourth. The team won the Ivy League and was undefeated in the ECAC through the first 15 games of the season. Princeton had a program record 20-game unbeaten streak which stood as the nation's longest unbeaten streak for months. The team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and finished with the top-ranked power-play unit in the nation and the nation's Rookie of the Year and All-American Sarah Fillier.

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