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The University of Maine women’s hockey team will miss freshman center Darcia Leimgruber as they attempt to secure a Hockey East Conference playoff berth, but Leimgruber is seizing a rare opportunity.
Leimgruber was selected to play for her native Switzerland at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She left UMaine in December after playing in just six games to return to Switzerland and prepare. It will be her first Olympic Games.
“It’s a huge honor for me,” Leimgruber said Wednesday during a phone interview from her home in Basel, Switzerland. “Even to play for the Swiss National Team is a big thing here, and I’m very proud that I made the team. Years ago I would not even have dreamed about this.”
Leimgruber has participated in the past two Women’s World Championships with Team Switzerland. In 2008, the team lost in the bronze medal game in China, but secured a spot in the Olympic field with the fourth-place finish. Leimgruber’s selection for the Olympic team came after what she described as a rigorous tryout process that included extensive travel, camps and games.
“When [coach] let me know, I broke out in tears,” Leimgruber said. “I could not believe it at first. It’s an indescribable feeling.”
UMaine coach Dan Lichterman knew of Leimgruber’s Olympic aspirations when she arrived in Orono in August and said he maintained constant communication with Team Switzerland’s coaching staff. NCAA eligibility requirements forced Leimgruber to miss the first 17 games of UMaine’s season. Leimgruber contributed a goal and an assist in her six games with the Black Bears, both coming in her final weekend with the team against Union College.
“It’s a great accomplishment for her and for our program,” Lichterman said. “It’s exciting as a coach to be able to see kids that you hope you’ve had a little impact on in their success of making it to that next level.”
UMaine senior left wing and captain Amy Stech said she was penciled in on a line with Leimgruber before the eligibility restrictions were realized and was impressed with the attitude and skill of the 20-year-old freshman.
“She brought a lot to this team,” Stech said. “I know that she’s going to do awesome out there, and the team is very fortunate to have her out there.”
Leimgruber is unsure if she will join the Black Bears after the Olympics for the end of the season. She returned to Switzerland to reduce the time commitment of playing both collegiate and international hockey, and will travel to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on Feb. 1 to participate in pre-Olympic preparation before heading to Athlete’s Village in Vancouver on Feb. 9.
“It was a lot, and I had to do stuff here back in Switzerland, so we decided that I’m just going to stay in Switzerland until the Olympics and see how things are going,” Leimgruber said. “After the Olympics we have to see if I can go back, or if I stay in Switzerland.”
Leimgruber said Lichterman and the Swiss coaching staff made scheduling and travel arrangements easier for her and their cooperation was helpful.
“It was very nice for me to not get involved in any kind of problems, because they solved everything for me,” Leimgruber said. “They had really good conversations, which made it easy for me to focus on hockey.”
Leimgruber feels she can rely on her World Championship experience to calm the nerves of playing on the Olympic ice. Her club team in Switzerland, DHC Langenthal, also finished second and first the past two years, respectively, at the Swiss National Championships.
“I do believe that it takes out some of the nervousness,” Leimgruber said. “Just getting used to the atmosphere is pretty important. You know what you have to deal with and who your opponents are.”
Lichterman credited former UMaine assistant coach Sara Simard for attracting Leimgruber to Orono as a late commitment last May. Simard assisted the Swiss National Team with player development and worked with Leimgruber when she was younger.
“It was kind of late in the whole deal when Darcia even decided that she wanted to try to come to the states,” Lichterman said. “Before Darcia stepped on campus, I hadn’t even seen her play.”
“I heard a lot about the American college and how life is there, and I was really excited to try that out,” Leimgruber said. “I finally got in touch with the University of Maine, and I was really happy that they gave me a chance to be a Black Bear.”
Stech and Lichterman marveled at Leimgruber’s offensive ability, which she developed in the more offense-keyed European style of play.
“She’s very offensively gifted,” Lichterman said. “She’s a kid who finds that open ice either to make a pass or to put herself in a spot to get the puck.”
“She’s an excellent shooter,” Stech said.
Lichterman said the NCAA’s eligibility restrictions made it difficult for Leimgruber to gain familiarity with her UMaine teammates and earn a consistent lineup spot.
“Once she was finally able to play, we were playing pretty well, so there wasn’t really a spot to kind of plug her into,” Lichterman said. “She kind of missed that first four-week window of being able to find her game, and find who she clicks with.”
Northeastern University goaltender Florence Schelling and defenseman Julia Marty are also members of the Swiss National team. Lichterman said international competition sometimes places a burden on college teams but emphasized the significance of the opportunity to play at that level.
“Really at the end of the day for kids, that’s where they can go,” Lichterman said. “There’s no [women’s] NHL, so it’s really those national programs that they’re striving for.”
Leimgruber expressed appreciation for the support of her UMaine teammates and coaches.
“Even though I’m in Switzerland right now, my heart is still there,” Leimgruber said. “I was so proud to be a Black Bear, and they helped me a lot. I really learned a lot from that team. I’m really, really thankful for that.”
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