He did a little Hailey Skamura know that she was fulfilling her Olympic potential while playing ice hockey at Northeastern.
“Northeastern played a huge role in my development,” says Scamurra, a husky from 2013 to 2017 participating in her first Winter Olympics with Team USA.
Scamurra is among five Huskies – all forwards – competing in women's ice hockey at the Games in Beijing. The other four are:
- Kendall Coyne Schofield, a former teammate of Scamurra's at Northeastern. Coyne Schofield serves as the captain of Team USA, which arrives in Beijing as the reigning Olympian.
- of the Czech Republic Dinesa Kryzovawho starred at Northeastern from 2014 to 2018.
- of China Rachel Lanesfast forward to the Huskies from 2009 to 2013.
- Current Northeast Star Alina Muellerwho is cleared by the Huskies to compete in her third Olympics with Switzerland.
Scamurra, Krizova and Llanes helped build the Northeastern program around the coach Dave Flint and the dynamic leadership of Coyne Schofield, who as a senior won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as national player of the year in 2015-16.
Alina Mueller, currently a senior at Northeastern, is competing in her third Olympics with Switzerland. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University
“We went on an upward trajectory when we started getting these players,” says Flint, who has amassed a national championship contender in his 13th season at Northeastern. “I think it helped get the players we have now – they saw how great those players were and it really helped us in recruiting.”
Confirming that trend is Mueller, the senior forward who is expected to return to Northeastern in time to help the Huskies seek a fourth straight Hockey East championship in the final week of February.
“It's pretty neat,” says Flint, who was named national coach of the year last season. “We have five different players from four countries in the Olympics.”
Scamurra, Krizova and Llanes each recorded at least 100 points during their careers with the Huskies (as did Mueller). Each played two years with Coyne Schofield, who left Northeastern with a school-record 141 goals and 249 points in 133 games. Flint saw leadership skills in Coyne Schofield early in her career.
“She was voted captain by her teammates after her freshman year, and she came up to me and said, 'I don't think I'm ready to be captain yet,'” Flint recalled. “It was a really mature move on her part. Ultimately, when she was ready, she became our captain and made a lasting impact on our program.”
Scamurra's sophomore and junior seasons were instrumental in her development. Not only was she learning to complement Coyne Schofield, but she was also defining her own playing style with his help Adam Naylorwho has served as the Huskies' sports psychologist since 2012.
“He really helped me with the mentality of whatever team you're on, you're going to give everything to that team,” Scamurra says of Naylor. “I remember having to write down what I thought my skills were and then getting really good at them. For me, that's the physicality, the mental side of the game—those are my strengths, and that's what I've asked to get better at.”
Two years after leaving Northeastern, the 5-foot-8 Scamurra's hockey IQ and physically imposing style helped Team USA win the IIHF Women's World Championship.
“My role on this team is that physical aspect — being relentless in forechecking and things like that,” Scamurra says. “I really improved it at Northeastern.”
It wasn't easy for Scamurra to keep her commitment. In 2019 he joined a boycott by 200 players seeking full-time wages and benefits from the National Women's Hockey League. The subsequent COVID-19 pandemic forced her to practice at home alone in Buffalo and with teenagers from the Buffalo Sabers NHL youth team. Her dogged dedication confirmed Scamurra's love for the sport and the strength of her Olympic dream.
“It's a surreal feeling,” Scamurra says of her opportunity in Beijing. “It's not something I imagined happening three or four years ago. So it's exciting to see all the hard work pay off.”
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