CALGARY – Olympic champion and alumna Kelly Bechard will take over as interim head coach of the Dinos women's hockey team for the 2013-14 season, University of Calgary Athletic Director Ron Wuotila announced Thursday.

Bechard steps in to replace Danielle Goyette, who will be on leave as an assistant coach with the Canadian national women's hockey team for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Goyette was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame this past weekend in Sweden.

Goyette will hand the reigns over to Bechard as of Aug. 1, 2013.

No stranger to the Dinos, Bechard has had a long association with the University of Calgary. She was a member of the first-ever Dinos women's hockey team in 1998, when she was named a first team All-Canadian. After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Haskayne School of Business in 2004, Bechard returned to the Dinos in 2010 as an assistant coach and has spent the last three years on the bench with Goyette, helping the team achieve its current lofty status in CIS with a national title in 2012 followed by a silver medal this past season.

A native of Regina, Bechard spent several seasons on the national team, winning Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 along with four IIHF world championships. Her playing career also took her to stints with the Calgary Oval X-Treme of the WWHL along with the NWHL's Brampton Thunder and Mississauga Aeros.

“I'm grateful and excited for the opportunity to lead this team,” said Bechard. “I have really enjoyed my experience working with Danielle for the past three years. She has created a solid program foundation and my plan is to continue in the same direction for the 2013-14 season. I will do my best to challenge the student-athletes both on and off the ice.”

“I had a chance to play with Kelly on the national team and get to know her in different situations,” said Goyette. “She knows what it takes to build a solid program. Kelly has been an assistant coach with us for the last three years, and we have built an understanding of what it takes for a team to be consistent year after year.”

Bechard will be assisted by Tara Hammer, who became the Dinos first full-time assistant coach in 2011. They will be joined on the bench by former Dinos captain Cait O'Hara. O'Hara played five seasons for the Dinos from 2006-11, helping the team capture the 2009 ACAC championship and captaining the squad during its transition back to CIS competition in 2009.

The Dinos captured their second straight first-place finish in Canada West last season thanks to a 23-4-1 record. Calgary captured a silver medal in Canada West and headed to the CIS championship in Toronto looking to defend their national title but fell just short, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Université de Montréal in the national final.

-UC-