Kali Flanagan, Cayla Barnes and Megan Keller dominated at the 2018 Winter Olympics for Team USA en route to a gold medal victroy over Canada. In just four days, both Flanagan and Keller will take the ice at Cyclones Arena in Hudson, New Hampshire. The Elite Women’s Summer Hockey League (EWSHL) will kick off play this Thursday night at 6:30 pm. Barnes will join the league for week two action.
Flanagan and Keller, who both played with the PWHPA last season after graduating from Boston College, will be part of this first of its kind women’s summer league. Barnes, who is entering her senior season at Boston College, will reunite with them.
Keller, a native of Michigan, has an Olympic Gold Medal, four World Championships and a U18 Silver Medal under her belt while representing her country. Keller completed her college career at Boston College in the spring of 2019. She scored 43 points (19 g, 24 a) in 38 games. Following her senior season, Keller suited up for the United States at the World Championships.
There, she scored six points (2 g, 4 a) in six games while winning a dramatic gold medal.
Flanagan also completed her college career with the Eagles in the spring of 2019. In 28 NCAA games with the Eagles, she scored 20 points (5 g, 15 a) and had a +17 rating. She has an Olympic gold medal and a World Championship under her belt at the international level for Team USA, and also took part in the ‘Rivalry Series’ this past winter against Team Canada.
Flanagan became the first ever woman to coach in the USPHL this past season. She served as an assistant coach for the Northern Cyclones at the USPHL NCDC level. The NCDC is the top tier of the USPHL, and is a tier-two junior league based in the Northeast part of the United States.
Barnes, who was a +3 at the 2018 Winter Olympics, has an Olympic Gold Medal, a World Championship and three U18 Championships under her belt with Team USA. With the Eagles, as a junior, in 2019-20, Barnes scored 23 points (6 g, 17 a) in 35 games. She’s slated to wear a letter on her jersey next season as part of the Eagles’ leadership group.
Joining Keller, Barnes and Flanagan is another former Eagle. Toni Ann Miano was an impact offensive player for the Eagles, scoring 43 points (18 g, 25 a) in 38 games as a senior in 2017-18. She suited up for the Boston Pride of the NWHL in 2018-19, scoring five points (3 g, 2 a) in 15 games. For the 2019-20 season, Toni Ann Miano left the NWHL and joined the PWHPA. She’s slated to skate for the organization again in the 2020-21 season.
Alexie Guay just completed her freshman season with the Eagles, and will skate in the EWSHL. The Quebec native scored 19 points (3 g, 16 a) in 36 games during her first foray into college hockey. She has international experience with Team Canada as well. Guay has won a gold and bronze medal with the Canadian side at the U18 World Championships.
Skylar Podvey will be entering her senior season at St. Lawrence this fall. The native of Montclair, New Jersey will skate as part of the EWSHL’s defensive group this season. Podvey scored eight points (2 g, 6 a) in 36 games this past season for St. Lawrence. She played her junior hockey in New England with NAHA White of the JWHL.
Former Norwich star, and NWHL’er, Kim Tiberi is also slated to skate in the EWSHL this summer. Tiberi scored a career-high 39 points (13 g, 26 a) in 31 games as a junior at Norwich. In the NWHL, Tiberi suited up in eleven games with the Connecticut Whale during the 2018-19 season.
A native of Billerica, Massachusetts, Baye Flanagan played for both Merrimack and SUNY-Plattsburgh of the NCAA. She’s also familiar with Hudson, as Flanagan skated for the Northern Cyclones 16U and 19U women’s teams prior to advancing to the NCAA level. She scored a career-high 12 points (2 g, 10 a) in 19 games with SUNY-Plattsburgh in the 2017-18 season.
