For the Averill family, representing the U.S. in IIHF competition was a mission that took decades to achieve. Today, Maggie and Caroline are back with the American U18 women’s roster, seeking to defend the gold medals they won a year ago in Switzerland.

But 30 years earlier, their mother Alison was suiting up for the first-ever American U18 women’s select team on a tour to Canada.

That 1995 team won its series in Ottawa, and produced future Olympians including Angela Ruggiero, Jenny Schmidgall and current Team USA defensive coach Courtney Kennedy. It was a pioneering roster, playing in a completely different hockey landscape.

For Alison Coughlin, now Alison Averill, mother of four hockey-playing daughters, watching the transformation of the women’s game inspires excitement, pride – and just a touch of envy.

“I do envy the experience [my daughters] have a bit,” she smiled. “It’s so nice that they have these great friends, teammates and competitors. It’s an awesome thing for a young woman, to band together and learn teamwork and friendships.

“Just watching them have fun with it is the thing I love the most.”

Coming full circle

Not that Alison’s hockey career was short of friendships. There’s an enduring connection with coach Kennedy, who was a rookie on that 1995 team. Three decades later, they still reminisce about that tour.

“Courtney and I were just remembering what an incredible experience it was at that age to wear a USA jersey and make our way out of the U.S.,” Alison said. “A lot of us didn’t know very many other players. We had our friends who played hockey but there just weren’t very many women playing at that time, so it was a smaller group. It was fun to get together and feel that we were doing something bigger than just playing for our boys’ teams back home.”

And the story comes full circle. After years of crossing each other’s paths when the Averill girls were playing for the East Coast Wizards in Bedford, Massachusetts, Courtney is now coaching Maggie and Caroline here in Vantaa, Finland at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship.

“To have them play for Courtney is a funny full-circle moment for me,” Alison added. “I’m two years older than her, so I was like the old woman on the U18 team and she was the newbie! Now she’s coaching my daughters, especially Maggie who plays D, it’s unbelievable.”

A family passion

The Averills have always been a hockey family. Alison’s husband, Will, was a college player at Northeastern. They met through playing the game. And as the family grew, sharing the joy of the game was natural. In the winter of 2010, just after the youngest daughter was born, they built a backyard rink – “More work than the baby!” – and a new chapter in the family sporting story began.

“We both just loved playing, and it was more about just enjoying ourselves in the backyard rather than getting on teams,” Alison recalled. “But it was a natural fit; we coached them, we enjoyed watching them, having them be active. They all took a liking to being with other kids and competing while having fun with it. 

“The real driver was the family joy we got from sharing it.”

While in Alison’s childhood, there were only a couple of other hockey girls in her state, the next generation has a far bigger network to draw on. Big improvements in high school hockey, the establishment of a national program and the steady rise of pro women’s sport – not just hockey, but also soccer and basketball – are transforming the status and credibility of female athletes and their achievements.

“Last year there was a PWHL game in the Bell Center in Montreal and it was a sellout crowd," Alison recalled. "I couldn’t believe I was watching my children watch that. I can remember how many fans came to my college games; sometimes it was my dad and maybe a couple of friends. So it gave me goosebumps to see the excitement for female sports.

“There aren’t many sports that have had the exponential change we’re seeing in women’s hockey.”

A joint journey

Now Caroline and Maggie are well-placed to make the most of the new opportunities open to women players. They were born just 20 months apart, Caroline the elder of the two. Their careers have gone hand-in-hand all the way to playing together in two World Championship events.

“It’s amazing for them to have this together, two years in a row as sisters,” Alison said. “They train together, they go to high school together, they’re on a club team together. While they are very different individuals, playing different positions with different styles, it’s just awesome how they’ve been able to align with one another in their goals and pursuits.

“It’s hard to say whether they would have been so successful without each other, but it’s been a real positive to have each other to push and support.”

Caroline turns 18 on 14 January and is already set to follow in Mom’s footsteps and go to Princeton in 2026. Defender Maggie could return for a third U18 World Championship. But both are likely to remain involved in hockey for many years to come.

“I just see hockey as being such a big part of their make-up and how they live their lives,” Alison said. “That love for the game makes me think they absolutely would want to continue, to give back to the sport and to play as long as they can.”