Gabbie Hughes, after completing a prodigious hockey career at Minnesota Duluth in March, received a national humanitarian award in early April — then helped Team USA capture the world championship.
Hughes, a center, was one of 25 members of the national team that defeated Canada 6-3 on Sunday in the finals of the IIHF women’s world tournament, ending a string of three world titles by the Canadians, in Brampton, Ontario. The Americans were 6-0-1 in the tournament. Hughes, in her first time on Team USA at this level, had one goal, during a win over Switzerland.
Hughes was announced as the recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award during the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four tournament held April 6-8 in Tampa, FL. She was honored for her work with Sophie’s Squad, a mental health awareness program that she and her family founded, named after a hockey player who died by suicide. Hughes was also a nominee last year.
“This means a lot more to me than just a personal recognition, it's a victory for mental health awareness in general,” said Hughes, in a press release from Minnesota-Duluth. “I think having mental health — and specifically Sophie’s Squad — recognized by a national platform like HHAF is extremely important.”
Hughes logged 81 goals and 133 assists in her five seasons at UMD. As a junior, she was a first-team All-American and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award (which goes to the nation’s top player) while leading UMD to the NCAA runner-up finish. At Centennial, Hughes was a Miss Hockey finalist and led the Cougars to a state runner-up finish as a senior.
Anneke Linser was Hughes’ teammate during their entire careers at Centennial and Duluth. In their final season together, Hughes was UMD’s top scorer with 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points, and Linser was the third-leading scorer with 17 goals (most on the team) and 13 assists for 30 points. Their tenure together ended with a 3-0 tournament loss to the Minnesota Gophers on March 11 as the Bulldogs finished 26-10-3.
Hughes has a bachelor’s degree and masters degree in education. Along with teaching, professional hockey is also a possible profession for her. The Premier Hockey Federation is operating in the U.S. and Canada, and there are options in Europe
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