In the team\u2019s fifth straight shutout, former Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel<\/a> denied Sweden at every turn in a 5-0 rout that punched the U.S. ticket to Thursday\u2019s 1:10 p.m. ET gold-medal showdown with Canada. It was Frankel\u2019s third shoutout of the 2026 Olympics.<\/p>\n Flint said Frankel is now widely considered the best goalie in women\u2019s hockey, after working hard during her years at Northeastern to get on USA Hockey\u2019s radar.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s proven to a lot of people \u2014 and to a lot of critics \u2014 that she\u2019s the best goalie in the world,\u201d said Dave Flint<\/a>, Northeastern\u2019s women\u2019s hockey coach.<\/p>\n The U.S. team has a strong contingent of Northeastern graduates anchoring the roster, including forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield<\/a> and Hayley Scamurra<\/a>, and goaltenders Frankel and Gwyneth Philips<\/a>.<\/p>\n The star-studded lineup reflects a pipeline from Huntington Avenue to the Olympic spotlight \u2014 proof that Northeastern\u2019s renowned hockey program and approach to recruitment is worthy of gold, said Flint.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of all of our athletes,\u201d Flint said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to make that roster. There are so many great players in the United States, so for four of our players to make it to that level, to the biggest stage, is really a testament to the caliber of student athletes that we\u2019ve been recruiting at Northeastern.\u201d<\/p>\n Coyne Schofield is no stranger to the Olympic ice. A Northeastern Athletics Hall of Famer and current captain of the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL, she took home silver medals in Sochi, Russia and Beijing, China, in 2014 and 2022, respectively \u2014 and a gold medal in 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s Coyne Schofield\u2019s fourth Olympic Games \u2014 but her first as a mom.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been more than 12 years since I learned I would compete in my first Olympics in 2014, and the feeling today is just as powerful,\u201d she wrote<\/a> on X at the start of the Games.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to her medals, Coyne Schofield finished her career at Northeastern as one of the all-time greats: she is the Huskies\u2019 all-time leader in goals, and the winner of the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Award<\/a>, an honor bestowed by USA Hockey that recognizes the top player in NCAA Division I women\u2019s ice hockey each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flint described Coyne Schofield as the kind of leader the women\u2019s Olympic team can lean on, praising her work ethic, hockey IQ and unmatched speed on the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s such a great leader, on and off the ice,\u201d he said. \u201cA person like Kendall, how she plays \u2014 it\u2019s infectious to her teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n A hugely decorated goalie in her collegiate days, Frankel graduated from Northeastern in 2021, and holds the all-time school career win record at 73 victories. On Feb. 10, 2026, she etched her name into Olympic lore, becoming the first U.S. netminder to hold Canada scoreless on the Games\u2019 biggest stage. She has allowed only one goal in four games in net for Team USA.<\/p>\n Philips played in two games for Team USA and did not allow any goals. In 2023, she earned national recognition as the top goaltender in women\u2019s college hockey, and by the time she left Northeastern, she had posted a .958 save percentage \u2014 the best ever recorded in NCAA history.<\/p>\n Flint praised Philips, who he said had to \u201csit behind [Frankel] for three years,\u201d adding that she also initially flew under the radar with USA Hockey before going on to earn a spot in the national team program and emerge as one of the country\u2019s most promising young goaltenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky during my time here at Northeastern that we\u2019ve had a lot of really good goalies who I have trusted,\u201d he said, adding that he subscribes to the \u201cGAGG rule,\u201d or \u201cget a good goalie.\u201d He said goalies play \u201cprobably the most important position on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n Scamurra, meanwhile, has provided veteran leadership and two-way reliability, bringing speed and years of experience on the international stage, where she captured multiple IIHF Women\u2019s World Championship medals. She added to her international r\u00e9sum\u00e9 with a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.<\/p>\n Scamurra scored her third goal of the tournament in the semifinal against Sweden.<\/p>\n Tanner Stening is an assistant news editor at Northeastern Global News. Email him at t.stening@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X\/Twitter @tstening90<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Kendall](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/KendallCoyne.jpg\")
03\/01\/16 \u2013 BOSTON, MA. \u2013 Kendall Coyne, AMD\u201915\/CPS\u201917, captain of the women\u2019s hockey team and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top collegiate women\u2019s hockey player in the nation. Photo by Matthew Modoono\/Northeastern University<\/p>\n![\"Gwyneth](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gwyneth-Philips.jpg\")
09\/09\/22 \u2013 BOSTON, MA. \u2013 Women\u2019s Hockey goalie, Gwyn Philips, poses for a portrait at Matthews Arena on Friday Sept. 9, 2022. Photo by Matthew Modoono\/Northeastern University<\/p>\n![\"Hayley](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Hayley-Scamurra.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Aerin](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/neu_bz60jc56s.jpg\")
03\/09\/21 \u2013 BOSTON, MA: Aerin Frankel, the All-America goaltender of Northeastern\u2019s ice hockey team, poses for a portrait on March 9, 2020. Photo by Ruby Wallau\/Northeastern University
\nThe U.S. team has four Northeastern alum anchoring the roster: Kendall Coyne Schofield, Gwyneth Philips, Hayley Scamurra and Aerin Frankel. Photos by Matthew Modoono\/Northeastern University, Jim Pierce and Ruby Wallau Northeastern University<\/p>\n