Monique Lamoureux-Morando | U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Changing positions is never an easy task. Doing so as an elite athlete can be challenging on many levels.

But that is exactly what Monique Lamoureux-Morando did in the final years of her career with the U.S. Women’s National Team, shifting from forward to defense. And she did so to excellent reviews.

It was that versatility that was a trademark of Lamoureux-Morando’s game and why she was part of a five-person class going into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Joining Lamoureux-Morando in the Hall’s 50th Class are twin sister Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, as well as Steve Cash, Jim Johannson and Ryan Miller.

Going from offense in the 2014 Sochi Olympics to defense for the 2015 World Championships took a great deal of work. Those types of changes don’t always go smoothly.

During her three Olympics, Lamoureux-Morando had nine goals and seven assists in 15 games. In 135 international games, the Grand Forks, North Dakota, native notched 62 goals and 81 assists for 143 points and won six world championship gold medals, making her tied for the third-most goal medals in women’s world championship history for Team USA.

Lamoureux-Morando not only helped the U.S. to unparalleled success on the international stage over the course of her 14 years with the U.S. Women’s National Team; she also excelled as a collegiate player, both at the University of Minnesota and University of North Dakota. She became North Dakota’s all-time leader in points by a defender and during her three-year career at UND, she became the program’s second all-time points leader with 190 career points. She was also a two-time All-American and Patty Kazmaier Award nominee.

Angela Ruggiero knew what she meant when she called Lamoureux-Morando “clutch” – and never was that more evident than the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the gold-medal game against rival Canada.

The U.S. trailed the four-time defending Olympic gold medalists 2-1 as time in the third period started to become precious. But that is when, with help from a cross-ice pass from Kelly Pannek, Lamoureux-Morando caught Canada during a shift change to score on a breakaway and tie the game with 6 minutes, 21 seconds left in regulation. That allowed Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson to win it in the shootout, the first U.S. Olympic gold medal since 1998.

It wasn’t a surprise that it was the twins who came up big when the U.S. needed a boost.

While being a twin is sometimes hard to separate yourself, Ruggiero said that Lamoureux-Morando just had a toughness and competitive spirit that made her stand out.

Part of that legacy includes creating a better path for females in hockey.

“Monique wanted to win and wanted to play hockey and evolve from not just a hockey player, but to a gender-equality advocate and role model and be visible in that way,” Ruggiero said. “Having a child and trying to try to come back and things like that. I'm just proud of that.”

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