When Brianne McLaughlin skated off the ice March 6, she began to deal with something every athlete eventually has to deal with — the end of their playing days.

On that night, McLaughlin and her Robert Morris University women’s hockey teammates played in the longest game in College Hockey Association Tournament history. Despite their best efforts, the Colonials left the rink after a 4-3 overtime loss to Wayne State in the first round.

So McLaughlin, an Elyria native, concentrated on finishing her degree at Robert Morris and thinking about life off the ice when something unexpected happened.

She got a reprieve.

McLaughlin was one of 41 players to receive an invitation to go to Blaine, Minn., and play in the U.S. Women’s National Festival, which starts today and runs through Monday. Twenty-one of the players will make the final roster for the 21st Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, in February.

“I thought I was done with hockey,” McLaughlin said. “I was disappointed all summer long that I was never going to play hockey again. All of a sudden, I get an e-mail from USA hockey. That was nice to get another shot to play hockey and a shot to be on the national team. It’s a little more exciting this year.

“I found out there was a possibility of going to camp back in April. I started right away working with my strength coach, Todd Hammer. I’ve been working out with him every day all summer and then I’ve gotten on the ice with one of my teammates a couple times.”

McLaughlin has pulled out all the stops in her quest to make the U.S. women’s national team, including enlisting the help of Nathan Handrahan, her coach at Robert Morris.

“We actually got a hold of the goalie coach that coaches the Penguins,” McLaughlin said of her training with Gilles Meloche. “He coached the guys team a couple years ago. Coach H. got a hold of him, told him my situation and asked if he could come out with me a couple times. He’s worked with (Penguins goalie Marc-Andre) Fleury and he does a whole bunch of camps. He’s worked with a lot of great guys. It was exciting practice with him.”

McLaughlin had plenty of success at Robert Morris.

In the first game of her senior season, she led the Colonials in a 3-2 upset of the University of Minnesota, then the No. 3 team in the country. She stopped 63 shots, including 23 in the third period. For her efforts in the upset, McLaughlin was named the U.S. College Hockey Online National Defensive Player of the Week.

Near the end of her senior season, McLaughlin became the all-time saves leader in NCAA Division I women’s hockey history. She stopped 3,809 shots in her career.

“I was going into a program that was new, so I knew we weren’t going to be great,” McLaughlin said. “We did better than I thought we were going to do. I never thought we’d beat Minnesota or play as well as we did against Wisconsin. We had a lot of upsets that no one expected us to have. I’m really proud of everybody and our senior class that made it all four years.

“I got used to playing in high-pressure situations with my college team. I just don’t know what to expect right now because I’m not (in Minnesota). I’m more nervous about the unknown. Once I’m out there practicing and get to know everybody, I’ll be fine.”

If she makes the initial roster, McLaughlin will join Team USA on the Qwest Tour between September and February. She would be a part of a 10-game, 10-city tour which will feature three games against Team Canada.

“I learned that confidence was a big thing,” McLaughlin said. “I learned how to prepare myself for games and I always played a lot better. This is the team that’s going to the Olympics, so it’s kind of like a last shot.

“I’ve been so excited to go to the camp and everything, but I know that I don’t really play well when I think too much. The more I’ve been on the ice, the better I feel. I’ve always been somebody that as long as I just don’t think about it, I don’t really feel pressure.”

Brianne McLaughlin

• College: Robert Morris University, 2009 graduate
• Sport: Women’s ice hockey
• Position: Goaltender
• Height: 5-8
• Key Stats: Started 29 of the 30 games she played as a senior, registering more than 1,700 minutes of ice time while turning away 969 shots.
• Fast Fact: The NCAA Division I women’s career saves leader was a four-year member of the All-College Hockey America postseason team and received 12 CHA Defensive Player of the Week awards during her career. (CHA is the league Robert Morris plays in.)

Contact Matt Florjancic at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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