PhD candidate Laura Suppes (standing, third person from left), with teammates from Milenyum at the 2010-2011 IIHF European Women’s Champions Cup in Turkey.

St. Paul, Minnesota native and UA College of Public Health doctoral student Laura Suppes skated in the 2010-2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament held in Ankara, Turkey for the European Women’s Champions Cup. “The team that I played for (Milenyum) won their division in Turkey for a spot in the tournament, and requested help from five foreign players. Four of us were from St. Paul, and one was from Montreal,” said Suppes.

A skater since the age of five, Suppes has been playing organized hockey since the second grade. “The toughest part about training in Tucson was the lack of ice. I do own a pair of Rollerblades, which helped me stay in skating shape. Running also helped. To avoid the afternoon heat, I would usually run or rollerblade in the mornings before class,” she said.

Although they lost all three games to France, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan, this PhD candidate in the Environmental Health Sciences program, hopes to skate again for the team if they make it to the next tournament.