Katie Lachapelle

Katie Lachapelle enters her third season as head coach of the Holy Cross women’s ice hockey team, and fifth as a member of the coaching staff, in 2021-22. She spent her first two seasons with the team as associate head coach.
In addition to her time at the collegiate level, Lachapelle has extensive experience coaching at the national team level. Most recently, she was named the head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team in 2021; she had previously been named the team’s head coach on May 6, 2020, but the 2021 IIHF Women's World U-18 Championship was canceled due to COVID-19. She additionally worked as an Olympic team camp coach and evaluator at the 2022 U.S. Olympics team tryout camp from June 1 to 7, 2021.
Throughout her collegiate coaching career, Lachapelle has coached numerous league All-Stars, All-Americans, Patty Kazmaier finalists, national team members, and Olympians.
In her second season at the helm with Holy Cross in 2020-21, Lachapelle helped lead Holy Cross’ first Hockey East All-Star selection in program history, senior defenseman Antonia Matzka, and the first Hockey East All-Rookie honoree in program history, Millie Sirum. She helped the Crusaders improve their Hockey East winning percentage and average goals per game from the previous season, and also guided the team to its first win over New Hampshire in program history.
In 2019-20, her first season as head coach, Lachapelle helped increase the team’s win total from year one to year two in Hockey East by four and increase its conference point total by nine. She saw four players earn weekly Hockey East awards as well as Jada Brenon named one of NCAA.com’s Three Stars of the Week on Nov. 19. She picked up her first career win as a head coach in the team’s 2-1 victory over Merrimack on Nov. 14.
In 2018-2019, she was crucial to the team's transition into Hockey East, one of the top conferences in Division I. She helped lead the team to the program's first win over a top-five ranked team, a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over then-No. 5 Northeastern.
During Lachapelle's first season on the Crusaders' bench, she helped guide the team to a 16-9-3 record and its 14th-straight postseason appearance. Senior Kara Violette was named the NEWHA Player of the Year, junior Tori Messina earned the Defender of the Year, freshmen Antonia Matzka and Julia Pelletier earned spots on the All-Rookie Team, and Kelsey Goostrey was named to the All-Sportswomanship Team.
Lachapelle came to Holy Cross after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at perennial national power Boston University from 2008-2017. She helped guide the Terriers to five Hockey East titles and six NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the Frozen Four in 2011 and 2013, making the national title game both times. In 2013, she received the Women’s Ice Hockey Assistant Coach Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association, honoring her complete body of work as an assistant coach.
In addition to her recent work with the U.S. Olympic Team and U-18 Team, Lachapelle has held numerous additional coaching positions throughout the U.S. Women’s National Team organization throughout her career. In August of 2018, Lachapelle was named an assistant coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-22 team and was selected to serve in that role again in 2019. Lachapelle served as a Camp Coach at the U.S. Women's National Team's September Camp and the Winter Training Camp in December of 2018. She got her start at the national level in 2013 when she was named an assistant coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team, a post she held through 2017. During her first year with the U-18 Team, Lachapelle won a silver medal, followed by helping lead Team USA to three-straight gold medals at the IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship. Additionally, Lachapelle has coached at various Girls’ Select 14, 15 and 16 Player Development Camps.
Prior to her time at Boston University, Lachapelle spent four years as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 2004-2008, with the Buckeyes going 67-65-15 during her tenure. She previously served as an assistant coach at Niagara for three years from 2001-2004, with the Purple Eagles posting a 49-49-8 overall record and advancing to the 2002 NCAA Frozen Four. Lachapelle began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Union for two seasons from 1999-2001.
Lachapelle is a 1999 graduate of Providence with a bachelor’s degree in social science. She was a four-year letterwinner for the Friars, serving as an assistant captain her junior year and a captain her season year. She was also selected to the 1997 ECAC All-Star team.