Nadine Muzerall, head coach of the Ohio State women’s hockey team announced an addition to the coaching staff Monday. Zoe Hickel brings five years of professional playing and coaching experience, as well as two World Championships with Team USA, to Columbus.
“I am honored to be joining the women’s hockey program at Ohio State,” Hickel said in a statement. “The standard of excellence Coach Muzerall has established, along with the commitment from her staff and the student-athletes, has proven that the Buckeyes will continue to be leaders in the women’s game. I am at a perfect place in my life to use the experience and cultures I’ve absorbed over the years of elite play, coaching and world travel to give that back to our team and to embrace the opportunity to help make a difference in this next generation.”
Hickel served two-years as a captain at the University of Minnesota Duluth during her college career (2011-15), leading the Bulldogs in scoring.
“When hiring a coach you need to look at the complete package,” coach Muzerall said. “Yes the XOs matter but they only consume a small fraction of the everyday coaching of these young women. We are developing them to be strong-minded women for life after hockey. There was no one better for this then Zoe Hickel. Her resume speaks for itself in terms of experience playing in the top league in women’s college hockey [WCHA], numerous years professionally after and representing her country’s colors on the U.S. National Team. She possesses the technical and tactical coaching but what you can’t read are the qualifications she owns that match our culture and what we are as Buckeyes.”
The start of Hickel also won a pair of World Championships and added four Nations Cup titles while playing for U.S. Women’s National Team.
