OTTAWA – Hockey Canada announced Wednesday that Dan Church will be head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, including the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Ottawa and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. In addition, Danielle Goyette will serve as assistant coach for both of those seasons. The coaching staff will be completed at a later date.

Church (York University) and Goyette (University of Calgary) both return after helping Canada win the gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Burlington, Vt., in April. They also claimed the silver medal at the 2011 4 Nations Cup in Nyköping, Sweden, last November and finished third at the 2011 IIHF 12 Nations Invitational Tournament, held last summer in Vierumäki, Finland.

“We are very excited that Dan and Danielle are returning to the Team Canada bench for the next two years, particularly after the success they had this season,” said Scott Smith, Hockey Canada’s chief operating officer. “It will be exciting to watch them work with Canada’s top players as we prepare to host the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Ottawa in April 2013, while moving closer to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.”

“I’m truly thrilled to rejoin the coaching staff of Canada’s National Women’s Team for the next two seasons, and look forward to working with Danielle again,” Church said. “We plan to keep building on our world championship win in Burlington by becoming a faster, stronger team and achieving even more success on international ice.”

Dan Church, 39, has just completed his eighth season as head coach of the York University women’s hockey team, following eight years as an assistant coach with the University of Toronto. In 2012, the York Lions advanced to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals for the first time. He has also served as president of the CIS Women’s Hockey Coaches Association since 2007 and won a CIAU (now CIS) national championship in 2001 as an assistant coach with the University of Toronto women’s team, under former National Women’s Team head coach Karen Hughes. Church was head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team during the 2011-12 season, winning a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship and a silver medal at the 2011 4 Nations Cup. He also won a silver medal as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship, a gold medal as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team at the 2008 Air Canada Cup and a gold medal as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team at the 2010 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship. Church was Canada’s head coach at the 2009 FISU Games in Harbin, China, the first to include women’s hockey, where Canada won the gold medal.

Danielle Goyette, 46, has just completed her sixth season as head coach of the University of Calgary’s women’s hockey team, leading the Dinos to their first-ever CIS national championship in 2012. Goyette served as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Team during the 2011-12 season, winning a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship and a silver medal at the 2011 4 Nations Cup. She also has served twice as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, winning silver medals at the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship in 2008 and 2009. As a player, she was a two-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time world champion who retired following the 2006-07 season and currently sits third all-time in goals (114), fifth in assists (105) and fourth in points (219) in Canada’s National Women’s Team history.