Laura Bellamy '13 Joins Women's Hockey Coaching Staff

The Harvard women’s ice hockey team has a new assistant coach for its upcoming season, but it is by no means a new face. Former co-captain and stand-out goaltender for the Crimson, Laura Bellamy ’13 will soon be bringing her knowledge and experience back onto the ice in Bright Hockey Center.

Bellamy will be joining the staff of Coach Maura Crowell, who is serving as the interim head coach for the Crimson while Katey Stone is coaching the Women’s National Team during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bellamy graduated from Harvard in May, after helping to lead her team to a record of 24-7-3 and its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2010. Bellamy applied for the job of assistant coach at the end of this past season.

“It’s unique in that I obviously know a lot of the players pretty well,” Bellamy said. “That’s going be different, as opposed to if they would have brought [in] someone new. I’m sure knowing the team may pose some challenges, but I’m ready for it.”

Harvard has the potential to bring back 17 players for the 2013-14 season, including two rising sophomore goaltenders in Emerance Maschmeyer and Molly Tissenbaum. Maschmeyer, who was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and Bellamy split the net this past season.

“There’re young, and I’m looking forward to being able to work with them coming from a different perspective,” Bellamy said about coaching Maschmeyer and Tissenbaum. “As a senior this [past] year, I had the most experience, so I’ll have a similar role in helping them.”

Bellamy spent the last year of her career between the pipes as the nation’s leader in goals-against with an average of 0.92 and was second in the country with her .949 save percentage. The Duluth, Minn., native secured 19 shutouts over the course of her winning career with the Crimson, currently ranking her second in Harvard history. Bellamy tallied a 60-25-7 record while in goal for Harvard.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play [at Harvard] for four years, and hopefully that will put me off to a quick start instead of having lots to learn in terms of ‘Harvard hockey,’” Bellamy said. “I think I have a lot to learn from the coaching [side], but I definitely bring the familiarity aspect.”

The Crimson will be adding seven new names to its roster, including one goaltender, for the upcoming 2013-14 season.

—Staff writer Claire K. Dailey can be reached at ckdailey@college.harvard.edu.