| Florence Schelling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born |
9 March 1989 Zürich, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for |
| ||
| National team |
 Switzerland | ||
| Playing career | 2005–2018 | ||
Florence Isabelle Schelling (born 9 March 1989)[1] is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. She briefly served as general manager of SC Bern from 2020 to 2021. She was the first woman to be named GM of a professional men's team in the world.[2]
During her playing career, Schelling competed internationally with the Swiss women's national ice hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics, 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics. In the 2012 CWHL Draft, Schelling was selected by the Montreal Stars, but opted to play the 2012–13 season with the Brampton Thunder instead.[3] She played with EHC Bülach of the Swiss men's National League B in the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, the first and only woman to ever play in the league.[4]
Schelling spent 2003–05 playing for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland. Since 2005, Schelling has been a member of the Swiss national team. Besides the Torino Olympics, she has competed in three World Championships. At the 2006 Olympic Games, Schelling was part of a seventh-place finish. Despite the showing, Schelling posted a .939 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average in three games.[5] In 2008, she led the Swiss to a fourth-place finish at the IIHF Women's World Hockey Championships,[6] the team's highest ever, and was the second-ranked goalie in the tournament. At the tournament, she was the only goalie to play in every minute of every game including an overtime period and a shootout. In the bronze medal game, she made 34 saves in the loss to Finland. At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, she played against Sweden and lost 3–0, lost to Canada 10–1, then beat Slovakia 5–2, China 6–0, and Russia 2–1, as the Swiss women took fifth place.
In a game versus Russia at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, Schelling stopped 32 shots in a 5–2 victory, as Switzerland advanced to the semifinals.[7] In the bronze medal game at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, Florence Schelling made 50 saves[8] as Switzerland beat Finland by a 6–2 tally.[9]
At the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Schelling backstopped the Swiss National Team to a bronze medal. Making 252 saves throughout the tournament, she was named Most Valuable Player, Best Goalkeeper, and included on the All-Star Team.[10]
Schelling excelled at Northeastern, being named a starter throughout her college career.[11] In her sophomore year (2009–10), Schelling was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks (weeks of 2, 9, 16 November). She posted a 30-save shutout against Robert Morris on 10 October and made 28 saves on 29 shots vs. Bemidji State on 23 October. She earned back-to-back shutouts over Vermont on 30–31 October, combining for 42 saves over the weekend. She was named Bauer Goaltender of the Month on 3 November after posting a 6–1–1 record, a 0.74 GAA and a .970 save percentage in October. She made 37 saves and stopped 11 of 13 shootout attempts at Providence on 8 November. Schelling shut out Vermont for the third time on 25 November and made 30 stops vs. the University of New Hampshire on 29 November. She led the nation with a 0.99 GAA and a 0.964 save percentage through December.
On 6 February 2009, Schelling made a Hockey East season-high 53 saves at Providence. The following day, she stopped 42 of 44 shots in a 3–2 win versus Providence.[12] She recorded her eighth 30-plus save game 21 February against Boston University, making 38 saves. She stopped 35 of 37 shots in a 2–1 loss to BU in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
Schelling started in the first-ever outdoor women's college hockey game 8 January vs. the University of New Hamphshire at Fenway Park. New Hampshire won the game by a score of 5–3.[13]
During the 2010–11 season, Schelling stopped 50 shots (.943 save percentage) in two wins against Princeton and RPI. A total of 25 saves was notched in each victory and she was recognized as the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the week of 25 October. She also tallied her first career point as she assisted on Stephanie Gavronsky's goal against the Princeton Tigers. On 5 March 2011, Schelling set a Hockey East tournament record with 44 saves, including a record 24 in the first period as the Huskies upset No. 1 seed Boston University by a 4–2 tally at Walter Brown Arena.[14]
On Friday, 17 February 2012, #7 ranked Northeastern skated to a 0–0 tie against the Providence Friars. The two goaltenders, Schelling of Northeastern and Geneviève Lacasse of Providence, stopped 80 shots combined through three periods and overtime. Schelling logged 38 stops, while her counterpart Lacasse stopped 42 shots.[15]
Schelling made her CWHL debut with the Brampton Thunder on 21 October 2012. Opposite Furies netminder Christina Kessler, Schelling claimed the win after teammate Gillian Apps notched a goal in overtime, ending the game at 4–3.[16]
| Season | Games played | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win % | Shutouts | Goals against average | Save % |
| 2008–09 | 19 | 5 | 12 | 1 | .306 | 2 | 2.24 | .933 |
| 2009–10 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 4 | .650 | 4 | 1.37 | .949 |
| 2010–11 | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 2.02 | .930 |
| 2011–12 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | .733 | 8 | 1.42 | .950 |
| Career | 98 | 49 | 32 | 15 | .589 | 18 | 1.74 | .940 |
| Event | Games played | Wins | Losses | Shutouts | Goals against | Save % | Goals against average |
| 2006 Olympics | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | .939 | 2.40 |
| 2010 Olympics | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | .884 | 5.00 |
| 2014 Olympics | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 24 | .913 | 3.97 |
