Laura Halldorson 2014 (Pioneer/Builder)

Laura Halldorson’s Minnesota roots are deep. She grew up in Plymouth Minnesota, and was a 1981 grad of Wayzata High School. Her hockey background under coach Bob May and the Minnesota Checkers, sent her
East to play for Princeton, well before college programs were to come to Minnesota. She was co-captain and all-conference while leading the Tigers to three Ivy League titles. She also played on the 1987 U.S. National Women’s Team. After 2 seasons on the Princeton coaching staff, she spent 7 seasons at Colby College. During that time she was president of the American Women's Hockey Coaches Association (AWHCA) from 1991 to 1994.

Laura was hired by the Gophers to head their new Women’s Hockey Program in 1996, and thus began a program built on Minnesota kids, from a high school program that was also just starting. Laura recognized the promise and the potential of Minnesota kids, and built her teams around the best that Minnesota had to offer. Thus began a long and successful relationship between Laura and the high school programs statewide.
She attended our programs all the time, encouraging Minnesota girls to excel, and provided our coaches the opportunity to learn as well, with her knowledgeable presentations at many of our clinics and functions. If there was a high school game, or an association event of importance Laura was there. She also provided guidance to our young coaches as they began their careers, including her many graduates and others interested in building
Minnesota girl’s hockey. Her success at Minnesota, with large numbers of MInnesota kids, speaks for itself. She collected back to back NCAA Championships In 2004 and 2005, and was runnerup in 2006. She also led the Gophers to the AWHCA championship in 2000. One of her former players, Laura Slominski, put it this way, ”So why the MGHCA Hall of
Fame...first of all Laura is a pioneer of our sport, and paved the way for girls like me to have the opportunity to play hockey as a high school sport, and now to be a high school coach.” She pointed out Laura’s willingness to
help MGHCA programs, and her commitment to help the sport grow, and include more females in the coaching ranks. She is still about teaching values and character through the sport of hockey.

Another former player, Tracy Cassano said, “She inspired me to follow in her footsteps, to coach young women, in order to make a difference in their lives.”
Laura’s record at Minnesota was 278-67-22 over 10 years. She was involved in U.S. National, Junior National and Women’s Select Teams over many years, as well as an evaluator for the 1998 Gold Medal Olympic Team.
One of the most successful women’s hockey coaches in the nation, and the only one to lead a program to five consecutive Frozen Four’s, Laura Halldorson believed in Minnesota kids. From Natalie Darwitz and Krissy
Wendell, to Ashley Albrecht and Gigi Marvin, the Curtins and the Brodts, the list goes on, of Minnesota kids that were inspired to join the Gopher women. We welcome Laura to our MGHCA Hall of Fame.