20 Questions

Over the last two years, the Harvard women’s hockey team has had five captains. When senior Julie Chu left to train with the U.S. National Team, senior Carrie Schroyer—a player who only has six goals in her college career—was left as the sole captain.

Her leadership, however, is about more than her stats.

“A lot of people say we’ve had a great run the past three years,” Schroyer said. “But every year we come back and people say we won’t be as great because of the people we lose. We shrug it off, we know we lost some girls, but we have Harvard hockey in our hearts.”

The team isn’t shaking in its skates.

“The Olympic years are fun,” Schroyer added. “Yeah, the hotshots are gone, but it’s so fun as a player because so many positions open up, and it’s a great chance for everyone else to step up.”

While she has taken the helm, Schroyer’s calm demeanor off the ice and backing from the other two seniors are helping keep the team focused on the upcoming season.

“Carrie is doing a great job and she has a lot of support around her, which is really nice,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said.

But don’t assume that this girl from rural Vermont is a quiet leader. The “Stormin’ Mormon,” as her teammates nicknamed her freshman year, is making sure she and everyone else is pumped up.

“My style of play is to go out there and wreak havoc. I’m a ‘grinder-in-a-corner’ kind of girl,” Schroyer said.

And with a team behind her that’s outspoken and “never has a quiet moment,” Schroyer’s excited to help guide this team back to a national championship again.

Last week, Schroyer sat down with the Crimson for 20 Questions—plus an encore—about women’s hockey, the ECAC, and what sets her apart:

1Toughest ECACHL team to play against?

Harvard is! We’re everyone’s nightmare, their biggest game of the season and we’re traditionally a powerhouse. But St. Lawrence has been put in the number-one spot so it’ll probably be them.

2Toughest arena to play in?

Dartmouth. But the best atmosphere is when we go out west to Duluth. It’s another town like Hanover where women’s hockey gets so much fan support. Freshman year, there were 5,000 people who wanted to see a women’s hockey game.

3Favorite road trip?

It would have to be St. Lawrence because, without fail, something goes wrong. Freshman year we took a three-hour detour and the restaurant we were supposed to eat at had to reopen for us. Last year, we left Cassie [Lawton, the women’s hockey sports information director] at the rink so we had to drive back. Then we ran into snowstorm and we didn’t get home until 3:30 a.m. We almost got in an accident when we hit a deer. Our assistant coach, who is a vegetarian, was sitting in the front seat so you can imagine what a big deal it was.

4Best all around opposing ECACHL player?

Sarah Love, Yale’s goalkeeper, is very good. When her team sets up on penalties, they stay out of the way and let her handle it alone because she’s so hard to break through.

5Most memorable college hockey game?

Any of the three national championship games were great, but our game against Dartmouth in ECAC finals where we beat them 4-1 stands out.That day everything clicked. A week later we played Mercyhurst in the final eight of the NCAA playoffs, the game that decided who went to the Final Four at UNH and it was the longest women’s hockey playoff game. The entire week before the game almost everyone on our team—at least 15 girls, almost our whole coaching staff, and even some of the parents—caught the flu. We had girls in UHS hooked up to IV’s to try to help them rehydrate. It was hard because the girls who didn’t catch the flu had to stay away from their sick teammates. Because everyone was so sick we really didn’t practice at all that week. We went into three overtime rounds and we had fans that came all the way from Harvard for the game and everyone stayed through the end. We were waiting for the moment to end the game and Julie Chu finally got the goal to come from behind for the win. Everyone joked afterwards that it was good we didn’t practice that week because the game on Saturday was so long, and we might not have made it through those three overtime periods.

6Biggest thrill as an ECACHL player?

Athletics are exciting themselves and because the ECAC is so competitive and the matchups are tight. You’re pulling out all of your options, pulling out big plays and working through tough times and when it all comes together it’s a thrill. Our team is so close and our team chemistry has always worked, so it’s exciting to share all of the experiences with your teammates.

7Favorite NHL team?

I’m a Flyers fan, mostly because of John LeClair, who is from Vermont.

8Favorite women’s national team player?

Angela Ruggiero. She’s amazing. I got to play on team with her for two years and she’s just such a great person. Everyone hates to play against Ange because she’s physical and fast. She’s probably the ambassador for women’s ice hockey and everything that it can be.

9What would you like to do after college?

Right now I’m applying to medical school. I want to do something in public health because I’ve always wanted to be a doctor.

10A varsity hockey player who wants to be a doctor?

My dad is a family doctor and I’ve always wanted to help people and get into medicine.

11If your dad influenced your professional goals, who got you started on hockey?

I’ve got three older brothers and when I was younger I wanted to do whatever they did. I watched them skate on the pond at night, and I really wanted to do it too so my dad cut down a stick for me.

12Did your brothers play hockey at college too?

I had one brother who played at Babson but mostly their interest in hockey fizzled out by high school. After three older brothers who played hockey, I was the least likely to play college hockey, but here I am!

13Favorite college class?

I took a seminar in self-destructive behaviors, like suicide and self-mutilation, where I learned a lot about some of the struggles that adolescents, young adults, and even adults go through. It was very eye-opening. Anything where you’re learning about some of the real tragedies that you won’t come into contact with but that expand understanding of others experiences is important.

14So are you writing a thesis?

I’m taking classes and playing a sport.

15Best movie you’ve ever seen?

Any other girl would say “The Notebook” or something sentimental, but I have to go with something a little out of the ordinary like “Best in Show.” No one in my family understands me, they don’t share the humor. My mom is always like, “Is this supposed to be funny?”

16Best all-time television show?

Oh my god, The Cosby Show. Oh, Bill Cosby’s pearls of parenting wisdom. I will parent my kids based on the Cosby Show. Do you know the one with Vanessa and a clarinet? That’s the best. Vanessa plays the clarinet for a week and then wants to do something completely different, but Bill in all his parental wisdom explains they bought this clarinet and if she doesn’t use it who will? It’s great.

17Best all time musical artist?

I’m a big Counting Crows fan but since I’ve gotten to Harvard, I’ve sort of gotten into country. My freshman year, the hockey team put on country in the locker room and I thought, what kind of hockey team does that? But now I love it, anything 20 girls can sing along to is good with me.

18Any superstitions?

I personally don’t have any but our coaching staff was pretty superstitious earlier in my hockey career. They had specific shoes, earrings or orders they’d walk out to bench in. But as a team we collectively fall into superstitions. It works based on locker room seating. This year Jen [Raimondi] is always the last to walk out. A while ago we used to have the last four walk out in the order of a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.

19Who is the person you most admire?

My mother, that’s an easy one. Being the youngest child, you spend so much time with your mother. I’m her sidekick and I tell her anything going on in my life. I’m very close to my mom and I’m very lucky.

20What are you thankful for?

My family. We’re moving into the exciting time where there are nieces and nephews joining the family. I already have three nieces. It adds a whole new dimension to holidays and get-togethers.

21So what is Aunt Carrie like?

I’m a cool college girl. I stock my nieces full of Harvard apparel so that they can wear it when they come to my hockey games.