Alexandra "Alex" Carpenter (born April 13, 1994) is an American ice hockey player and member of the United States women's national team. She most recently played in the 2020–21 season of the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with the KRS Vanke Rays and served as team captain. The first player drafted into the National Women's Hockey League in 2015, she won a silver medal with the 2014 United States Olympic team, won the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Award, and was named ZhHL MVP in 2020.[1]
Alexandra Carpenter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Alex Carpenter playing for Team USA in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
(1994-04-13) April 13, 1994 (age 28) North Reading, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoots | Left | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Played for |
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National team |
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Playing career | 2011–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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While in middle school she played for a male hockey team in Bethlehem, New York. Noteworthy teammates included her younger brother Robert Carpenter as well as Jonathan Clark, Sam Segal, Danny Golderman, and Jake Nussbaum. In fall 2007, she joined The Governor's Academy in South Byfield, Massachusetts. Carpenter played for the Governor's Academy varsity team as a 13-year-old. She racked up a total of 155 goals and 136 assists for 291 points over three years.[2]
On July 22, 2010, she committed to joining the Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey program in the fall of 2012.[3]
Alex recorded her 100th career point against UConn Feb 17 of her sophomore season with Boston College (BC).[4]
During her junior season (2014–15) at Boston College, Carpenter was the recipient of the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Award.[1] She was the first player in the history of the Boston College Eagles program, and first player from the Hockey East conference to claim the award.
Carpenter competed for Team USA under-18 in an Under-18 three-game exhibition series against Canada's best in Calgary, Alberta. She helped the US team win the 2009 Czech Challenge Cup in Prague.[5] She scored a goal for Team USA in the gold medal game of the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under 18 Championship but the team ultimately fell to Canada and had to settle for the silver medal.[6] She was the youngest girl for Team USA in the tournament at fifteen-years-old. She finished the tournament with eight goals and one assist in five games. She was tied for second in team scoring behind Kendall Coyne.[2]
In 2013, she made the women's senior team and participated in the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship and remained on Team USA for every following season, including the 2014 Olympics. Carpenter scored the game-winning overtime goal to lead the United States to a 1–0 win over Canada at the 2016 Women's World Championship. She was one of the final cuts from the 2018 Olympic team,[7] but was brought back for the 2019 World Championship.[8] As of 2020[update], Carpenter has participated in five IIHF World Championships with the United States’ senior team, claiming gold at all five tournaments.
On January 2, 2022, Carpenter was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[9]
Carpenter was the first player drafted in the National Women's Hockey League's (NWHL) inaugural draft in 2015, selected by the New York Riveters.[10] She returned for her senior season with Boston College and her rights were traded to the Boston Pride in April 2016.[11] During the summer of 2016, Carpenter signed with the Boston Pride for a one-year, $19,500 contract, making her the highest paid player of the 2015 NWHL Draft class.[12] Playing for Team Steadman, Carpenter recorded a goal and an assist at the 2nd NWHL All-Star Game.[13] She finished the 2016–17 season as the second highest scorer in the league.[14]
Following her season in the NWHL, Carpenter registered for the 2017 Draft of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and was drafted by one of the two Chinese expansion teams, Kunlun Red Star WIH based in Shenzhen.[14] During the 2017–18 KHL season, her father, Bobby Carpenter, was a coach for HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the men's club that owned the Kunlun Red Star WIH. After being cut from the United States Olympic team, she signed with Kunlun Red Star on January 15, 2018.[15] The following season, the two Chinese CWHL teams were merged to become the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays and Carpenter re-signed with the team.
After the 2018–19 CWHL season, the CWHL ceased operations and the team joined the Women's Hockey League (ZhHL). Carpenter again chose to remain in China, citing the better facilities and player support provided by the team than what she had experienced in the NWHL, supporting the boycott of North American leagues that had led to the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).[8]
Source:[16]
Season | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
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2012–13 | 35 | 21 | 18 | 39 | — |
2013–14 | 37 | 32 | 38 | 70 | — |
2014–15 | 37 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 15 |
2015–16 | 41 | 43 | 45 | 88 | 6 |
Event | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
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2010 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship | 5 | 8 | 1 | 9 | +7 | 0 |
2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship | 5 | 6 | 4 | 10 | +4 | 0 |
2012 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +14 | 2 |
2013 IIHF Women's World Championship | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 0 |
2014 Olympics | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
2015 IIHF Women's World Championship | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +5 | 0 |
2016 IIHF Women's World Championship | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +4 | 0 |
2017 IIHF Women's World Championship | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
2019 IIHF Women's World Championship | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +4 | 0 |
2021 IIHF Women's World Championship | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | +5 | 0 |
2022 Olympics | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | +6 | 0 |
2022 IIHF Women's World Championship | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +15 | 0 |
Season | Team | League | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||
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GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||
2016–17 | Boston Pride | NWHL | 17 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
2017–18 | Kunlun Red Star WIH | CWHL | 13 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2018–19 | Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays | CWHL | 28 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
Carpenter is the daughter of former NHL player Bobby Carpenter.
Alex Carpenter was the first girl to play in the Morristown, New Jersey, Little League in 25 years (performing as a pitcher, catcher and shortstop) and was the first girl to play as a 10-year-old.[28]
Carpenter is an out member of the LGBTQ community.[29][30] She became engaged to girlfriend Steph Klein, an assistant equipment manager with the Toronto Marlies, in January 2022.[31]
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Patty Kazmaier Award 2015–16 |
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Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey | |||||
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All-time record | 480-355-80 | ||||
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Patty Kazmaier Award | |
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