The URI Women’s Ice Hockey team has named Nikki Friesen as its next head coach. Friesen was selected after a national search.
Friesen comes to URI after spending the 2022-2023 season as the Head Coach of the Stateline Hawks Girls U19AA team, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Prior to that she was an assistant coach for the Greenwich Skating Club Girls U12AA team and helped lead that team to a Connecticut State Championship in 2022. Friesen spent the 2020-2021 as an assistant coach for Sacred Heart University’s women’s hockey team.
“After spending a couple years at the youth level, I’m incredibly excited to be returning to college athletics,” Friesen said. “From the get go I can tell that URI is heavily invested in its club athletes and the players are looking forward to opening a new chapter both on and off the ice. Together I believe we can have a strong season and set a solid foundation for the future of this program – September can’t come fast enough!”
A native of Oregon, Friesen played NCAA Division I hockey at Harvard University from 2014-2018 where she received a BA in Economics. She continued her college hockey career as a graduate student at Lindenwood University, receiving an MBA in 2020.
“We are incredibly excited to have Nikki Friesen on board as our next Women’s Ice Hockey Head Coach,” Joe Wilbur, Assistant Director of Competitive Sports said. “As the women’ hockey program continues to grow, we wanted a leader who not only possessed the necessary hockey knowledge and skills as a coach, but someone who could help build strong relationships with the athletes and facilitate a culture of positivity both on and off the ice, I believe Nikki is up to the task.”
“The team is immensely excited to welcome Coach Nikki to the Rhody community” Captain Emily Jedson said. “From the very first interview, we knew she was the perfect fit for our program. Her experience, philosophy, and hockey IQ will help elevate our game to the next level this season. I strongly believe that Coach Nikki will help foster a positive team culture which in turn will lead to both on and off the ice success. We’re excited to see what the future holds, and we’re counting down the days until the season starts!”