ALAIN NAMED INTERIM COACH OF RAMS WOMEN'S HOCKEY

July 3, 2013

TORONTO - Ryerson Athletics announced on Tuesday that Pierre Alain has been named the interim head coach of the Rams women's hockey team for the 2013-14 season.

Alain will be at the helm of the program while head coach Lisa Haley serves as an assistant coach with the Canadian Senior Women's National Team for the next year, including the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Alain brings more than 27 years of coaching experience to the Rams, including extensive involvement with the Canadian Women's National Team program. This past season he won a gold medal as head coach of Canada's Under-22 Women's National Team at the Meco Cup in Füssen, Germany, while in 2012 he coached the National Women’s Under-18 Team to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship in Zlin, Czech Republic.

"Pierre is a wonderful addition to the Ryerson Rams family," said Stephanie White, Associate Director of Athletics at Ryerson University. "His proven history of success and leadership in women's hockey will be a great asset for our women's team. We are very pleased to have attracted another high performance coach to help guide our developing women’s hockey program."

In 2012-13, Alain served as the recruitment coordinator for the Concordia University women's hockey program. Before joining Concordia, he was head coach of Les Cheminots du College de Saint-Jerome women's team in the Quebec Provincial Hockey League. In 10 seasons with Saint-Jerome, Alain coached his team to an impressive five league championships. He was also head coach of the Quebec Under-18 Team at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, winning a bronze medal.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Rams family,” said Alain. “I look forward to sharing my knowledge and passion for the game here at Ryerson.”

Alain, a NCCP Level 4 and certified Level 2 High Performance coach, graduated from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) with a degree in physical education.

The Rams will open the 2013-14 OUA season on October 3 against the University of Toronto.

Source: Ryerson Rams