Ten and Counting: A Look into Dartmouth Women’s Hockey’s Olympic History

When people think of Dartmouth women's hockey, it is common to think of Laura Stacey '16, three-time Olympian and medalist for Team Canada, currently playing for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League.

While Stacey impressed at both the collegiate, international, and professional levels, the Big Green's Olympic history extends much further. The program has produced 10 Olympians, the second most in the Ivy League, and accumulated 15 medals; 10 gold, three silver, and two bronze.

Gretchen Ulion '94 and Sarah Tueting '98 were the first Big Green representatives to make their Olympic debut, both playing for the United States in the 1998 Olympics.

The Americans were dominant through the tournament, posting a 6-0 record and outscoring opponents 36-8. Ulion scored a goal in the Gold Medal game, helping the U.S. to a 3-1 victory over Canada.

Ulion tallied three goals and five assists for eight points across the tournament while Tueting played in four games in net, posting a .938 save percentage and a 1.15 goals against average.

The 1998 Olympic team was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2019, credited as the team that helped launch women's hockey in the United States.

The pair's gold in the first women's hockey Olympic tournament made history beyond just the United States, as it was the first gold medal won by a female in Dartmouth history.

Tueting played in one more Olympic games for the U.S., playing in the 2002 games in Salt Lake City. Another Dartmouth representative made her Olympic debut in the '02 games, the first for Team Canada.

Before even playing a season for the Big Green, Cherie Piper '06 debuted in the Olympics for Team Canada, winning gold in the '02 games. Her three goals and two assists helped the Canadians beat Tueting and the United States.

The medal in 2002 started a stretch of three straight Olympic Golds for Piper and Team Canada, also winning in 2006 after defeating Sweden, 4-1.

Piper scored seven goals and added eight assists for 15 points in the 2006 tournament, playing alongside Gillian Apps '06 and Katie Weatherston '06. Both Apps and Weatherston were making their Olympic debut as Apps finished with seven goals and seven assists while Weatherson scored four goals and added one assist in her singular Olympic Games.

In addition to the three Team Canada Dartmouth representatives, the Big Green had three additional skaters, Rachel Rochat '95 on Team Switzerland and Kristin King '02 and Sarah Parsons '10 on Team USA. Rochat scored three goals and one assist for four total points as the Swiss finished seventh in the tournament. King scored two points in five games for the Americans, as the U.S. claimed bronze.

In the 2010 games in Vancouver, Piper and Apps once again combined to help Team Canada to Gold, its third straight, after defeating the United States, 2-0. Piper scored five goals and added five assists while Apps added seven points, three goals and four assists.

Piper finished her three Olympic games with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 total points.

Apps played in her third and final Olympics for Team Canada in 2014, winning her third consecutive Gold Medal and Canada's fourth.

Four years later, Laura Stacey '16 made her Olympic debut for Team Canada. Canada and the United States played tied at two through overtime, before the Americans won the shootout, as Stacey and the rest of Team Canada came home with silver.

Stacey returned to the Olympic stage in 2022, this time taking home gold, the tenth Gold Medal won by a Dartmouth women's hockey athlete. This game also ended in 3-2 fashion, this time in Canada's favor. She scored four goals and added two assists for six points in the 2018 tournament.

Now, we look back on the 2026 Olympics. Stacey played in her third consecutive Olympic Games for Team Canada, taking home the silver medal, Dartmouth's 15^th Olympic women's hockey medal. She scored one goal and added three assists throughout the tournament, including assisting Canada's lone goal of the Gold Medal game. In addition to Stacey, this year's Winter Olympics saw one more Dartmouth connection etch her name in the history books.

Michaela Hesová '28 made her Olympic debut for Team Czechia, the first Dartmouth connection to represent Czechia and only the second to represent a country other than the U.S. or Canada.

Hesová impressed in her first two seasons with the Big Green, setting the single season program saves record (848) as a first-year, and posting a .922 save percentage for the eighth best single season save percentage in program history. In her sophomore campaign, Hesová posted a 2.69 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

In this year's Olympic Games, Hesová played in two games, posting a 2.70 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

While the 2026 Winter Olympics have concluded and focuses shift to 2030 in France, it is clear the future remains bright for Dartmouth women's hockey on the world's biggest stage.

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