Bio

Beth McCann brings her 20-year experience as a collegiate head coach (347-211-34; .614 winning percentage) to the Seahawk women's ice hockey program, as her daughter, Madison, enters her senior season as a forward on the Salve Regina ice hockey squad. McCann enters her sixth season overall at Salve Regina and her squads have qualified for the postseason in each of her first five seasons.

McCann founded the University of Rhode Island club ice hockey program and has served as its only head coach since 1999. Building the club program from scratch, McCann has achieved many professional goals including the development of new opportunities for women's ice hockey at both the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) level and regionally.

She led the initiative of the ACHA to create the women's National Select Team Development Camp and Program. The culmination of that effort was the inaugural participation of the ACHA women in international competition in France in 2010.

McCann directed all activities of the women's ice hockey team at URI including: budget, recruiting of qualified student-athletes, game and practice preparation and schedule, supervision of assistant coaches, monitoring academic progress of student-athletes.  As a club sport head coach, she was also responsible for fundraising for the program.

A two-time ACHA Coach of the Year (2005, 2008), McCann coached her Rhody squads to nine titles during 11 years of participation in its regional league, the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL). They also had nine ACHA final four appearances.

As a former NCAA Division I hockey player, and captain, at Northeastern University, McCann can relate to female athletes "who need to be encouraged and inspired to achieve their personal best at increasingly higher levels of competition. I've emphasized the importance of team bonding and the cultivation of a team culture characterized by a strong work ethic, dedication and discipline, and an unselfish commitment to playing well together, for only in unison will a team exceed the sum of the individual members to achieve its goals."

McCann has spearheaded the ACHA to have its women now represent the USA at the World University Games, sponsored by USA Hockey, and as a result its student-athletes have an international experience and a higher standard of sportsmanship and competition to which to aspire.

McCann lives in Westerly, R.I.