University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Hockey
- Title:
- Women's Ice Hockey Assistant Coach
Gopher alum Natalie Darwitz joined the Gopher women's hockey coaching staff as an assistant coach in the 2008-09 season. She took a year off to be Team USA's captain in 2009-10, but Darwitz returned to the Gopher bench at her alma mater for the 2010-11 season. The Eagan, Minn., native coaches the forwards and assists with other coaching responsibilities such as recruiting, scouting, game-planning, and video breakdown.
Darwitz, who finished her Gopher career in 2005, competed in her third-straight Olympic Games in 2010 and led the United States to a silver medal. Darwitz started her coaching career in 2007-08 as an assistant coach with Eagan High School. There, she helped coach the forwards with her father and head coach Scott Darwitz. In her year with the Wildcats, Darwitz helped Eagan to its first state championship berth in four years with a 20-9-1 overall record. As an assistant with the 2008-09 Gophers, Darwitz coached Minnesota to its first WCHA title since she was on the roster and helped the Gophers to their first Frozen Four appearance since 2006.
In just 99 career games for the Gophers, Darwitz set a school record of 246 points with 102 goals and 144 assists. In her final year with Minnesota, Darwitz scored 42 goals and 72 assists for 114 points, breaking the NCAA record for points in a single season. The Patty Kazmaier Award finalist led the country in points per game (2.85) and assists (72). A three-time first-team All-American, Darwitz was named the Most Outstanding Player for her performance at the 2005 NCAA Frozen Four. Not only did Darwitz set the record for points in the NCAA tournament with nine points (3g-6a), she also scored the game-winning goal for the Gophers with 1:08 remaining in the contest to lead them to their second national championship in two years. Darwitz, the 2005 WCHA Scoring Champion, tallied 72 points in conference action alone and was named a first-team All-WCHA selection for the third straight season. As a freshman, she was also named the 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Gopher to earn the distinction.
On the USA Hockey front, Darwitz and Team USA earned silver at both the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games and an Olympic bronze medal in 2006. Since joining Team USA, Darwitz has been on eight world championship teams and was the youngest player to be selected to the national team at age 15. Darwitz received USA Hockey's Bob Johnson award, given to a U.S. athlete who has excelled on the international scene, in 2009.
Darwitz At A Glance
Education
- B.S. Sports Studies, Minnesota, 2007
Coaching Accomplishments
- Helped the Gophers to their first WCHA regular season title in 2009 and a NCAA Frozen Four appearance.
- Served as an assistant coach at Eagan High School, where she helped the Wildcats to a 20-9-1 overall record and its first state championship berth in four years
- Creator and founder of Darwitz Hockey Development Camp and instructed players age 6 and up
Athletic Accomplishments
- Helped lead the Gophers to back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005
- NCAA record-holder for points in a season (114 points)
- 2005 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player
- Three-time All-American and Patty Kazmaier finalist
- WCHA Scoring Champion in 2005 (72 points in WCHA action)
- Three-time All-WCHA first-team honoree
- 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year
- Recorded 246 career point in just 99 games for the Gophers, setting the Minnesota record
- Youngest member of the U.S. National Team at the age of 15
- Three-time U.S. Olympian in 2002
- 2010 Team USA captain at Olympic Games
- Named the 2005 and 2008 USA Hockey Player of the Year
- Eight-time member of the U.S. World Championship team, including 2008 and 2009 where she captained Team USA to a gold medal
