Boston College was inducted into the Team USA Collegiate Impact Award Class of 2022 on Tuesday. The induction recognizes the contributions of current and former BC student-athletes toward Team USA’s performance at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
“We are thrilled to have Boston College honored as one of the first four schools to receive the Team USA Collegiate Impact award,” Athletics Director Blake James wrote in a release. “Our entire BC community is so proud of the accomplishments that Eagles’ athletes – past and present – made at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and look forward to continuing to make an impact on the international stage.”
The induction ceremony will take place as a part of the National Football Foundation’s 64th Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas, Nev.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee named three other schools to the award’s inaugural class. Minnesota earned the Olympic Gold Award, Wisconsin earned the Olympic Silver Award, BC earned the Olympic Bronze Award, and New Hampshire earned the Paralympic Gold Award.
Five Eagles participated in the 2022 Olympics as members of the 2022 United States Women’s Olympic Hockey Team and 2022 United States Men’s Olympic Hockey Team. BC women’s hockey associate head coach Courtney Kennedy served as an assistant coach for the women’s Olympic team.
Alex Carpenter, Megan Keller, and Cayla Barnes competed for the U.S. women’s team.
The 2022 Olympics marked the second time Carpenter, Keller, and Barnes earned Olympic medals, as Keller and Barnes were a part of the United States’ gold medal–winning squad in PyeongChang in 2018, and Carpenter was a part of the United States’ silver medal–winning squad in Sochi in 2014.
Carpenter recorded two goals and seven assists for nine points across seven games in Beijing. Keller tallied one goal and eight assists while playing the most minutes out of the entire U.S. roster.
Barnes recorded one goal and six points in seven games in Beijing, playing the second-most minutes for the United States, behind Keller. Barnes scored her first career Olympic goal on a power play in the semifinal game against Finland.
Kennedy earned her first Olympic medal as a coach and third overall medal. She won two bronze medals as a player for the U.S. team in the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games.
Former BC men’s hockey players Marc Mclaughlin and Drew Helleson competed for the U.S. men’s team.
Mclaughlin, who was named the Hockey East Best Defensive Forward as a junior, played in two games, while Helleson appeared in three. Helleson, who earned one assist in his Olympic appearance, was named a Hockey East First-Team All-Star during the 2020–21 season.
Both McLaughlin and Helleson left the Heights after the 2021–22 season after signing professional contracts with the Boston Bruins and Anaheim Ducks, respectively.
