NWHL Names USA and Minnesota Hockey Stars Tricia Luoma and Winny Brown All Star Coaches

The National Women’s Hockey League on Thursday afternoon, announced the coaches for the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game, which will be played at the Minnesota Wild’s practice facility in St. Paul, Minnesota will have USA Hockey and Minnesota connections.

NWHL All Star Coaches to have Minnesota & USA Hockey Flavor

The NWHL All-Star Weekend, will take place on February 10 and 11 at TRIA Rink, the recently opened practice home of the Wild. Three-time U.S. Olympian, Tricia Dunn-Luoma and the first winner of Minnesota’s Ms. Hockey Award for high school hockey, Winny Brodt-Brown, will lead the two squads behind the bench throughout the weekend.

Dunn-Luoma, helped the women’s national team capture the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Brodt-Brown, was a member of the national team program for ten years.

NWHL Deputy Commissioner, Hayley Moore said, “We are honored to have a pair of women’s hockey greats with deep connections to Minnesota join us for our all-star weekend in St. Paul. We felt strongly about having a Minnesota presence with our teams for these events, and we could not be more pleased that Tricia and Winny will serve as coaches.”

Minnesota Whitecaps Represented at NWHL All Star Game

Luoma, currently resides in Minnesota and played for the Minnesota Whitecaps from 2005 to 2007. She was a forward on the US Women’s Olympic Team which brought home the gold from the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. Between 1996 and 2007, she represented Team USA in six International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships and three Winter Olympics.

The 1996 University of New Hampshire star, put up 60 goals and 57 assists in 108 games during her collegiate career. After helping the Wildcats capture the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference title, in a five-overtime battle against Providence College, during her senior season, she was named to the ECAC All-Tournament Team.

Luoma was inducted into the UNH Hall of Fame in 2003. She said, “It has been awesome to be a part of and to witness the growth of women’s hockey, and I am very excited for the opportunity to be a coach in the NWHL All-Star Game.”

Brown, a defender from Roseville, Minnesota is an original member of the Whitecaps. She is currently the Director of Os Hockey Training, where she oversees several programs for female hockey players. She also coaches in the Elite League girls’ program as well as with several other Minnesota area hockey programs.

Brown began her collegiate career at UNH before transferring to the University of Minnesota. At UNH she helped her team win the inaugural American Women’s College Hockey Alliance national championship in 1998 as she was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

After transferring to Minnesota, she helped the Golden Gophers capture the 2000 AWCHA Championship. The 10-year member of the national team program, spent the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons with the US Women’s National Team.

She finished her collegiate career with 41 goals and 93 assists. During her high school career, she won the first ever, Ms. Hockey Award. Brown also helped her Roseville High School team complete an undefeated season with a state championship during her senior year.

Brown told the league, “It is extremely special and groundbreaking to have the NWHL’s All-Star Weekend in Minnesota, and I am honored to be a part of the event.”

NWHL & Minnesota Wild Partnership for All-Star Weekend

The league will partner with the Wild to handle all the events which will take place over the weekend of February 10 and 11, at the National Hockey League’s new practice home in Downtown St. Paul. The 2018 Skills Competition will be held on Saturday February 10 at 7:45 pm Eastern Time/6:45 Central Time. The 2018 All-Star Game faces off at 12:30 ET/11:30 CT.

The All-Star Game will consist of two 25-minute halves. Each squad will have 12 skaters and two goaltenders. Buffalo Beauts goalie, Amanda Leveille and Boston Pride netminder, Brittany Ott will serve as the team captains. Both goaltenders helped their clubs win an Isobel Cup, as league champions.

In Other News:

NWHL & Sparx Hockey Continue Partnership

The League also announced on Wednesday that they extended their partnership agreement with Sparx Hockey, to continue to serve as the Official Skate Sharpener for the NWHL.

Commissioner, Dani Rylan said, “Sparx Hockey has been an incredible partner of the National Women’s Hockey League and we are excited that the innovative company will continue as the official skate sharpening partner of the league.”

She added, “The convenience, portability and ease-of-use of the Sparx sharpener is a great solution for our teams and the feedback on the quality of sharpening over the past year has been incredible. A main focus of our league is to ensure professional quality experiences for all of our athletes at all times, and Sparx delivers the quality and consistency that our elite athletes demand.”

Sparx Sharpener is Affordable Easy to Use Skate Sharpener

The Sparx Sharpener is an affordable, automated product that allows anyone, anywhere, with no prior skate sharpening experience, to easily sharpen hockey and figure skates with pro-level accuracy. There are over thousands of customers throughout the US and Canada, from pro shops to rink operators to individuals and families, utilizing the Sparx Sharpener.

Steve Jones, Vice President of Marketing for Sparx Hockey said, “The NWHL features some of the best players in the world and the league’s decision to extend our partnership is a testament to the quality of the Sparx Sharpener as well as our commitment to players at all levels, from youth players to the most demanding professional athlete. Players in the NWHL expect a high-level of performance and consistency from all of their equipment every time they take the ice and Sparx exceeds those expectations.”