Abington Native, Hockey Star, Named To Team USA

ABINGTON, PA — Abington native and ice hockey star Chad Kolarik will travel to South Korea as part of Team USA in the 2018 Olympics.

Kolarik and Team USA will head to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which begin on Feb. 9.

Kolarik, who was born in Abington but went to high school in Pittsburgh, currently plays professional hockey in Germany. Before that, he had stints in the NHL with the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

It will be the first Olympic team for Kolarik, now aged 31.

Ice hockey games between 12 qualifying nations begin on Feb. 14. The United States hopes to recover from a disappointing showing at the 2014 Olympics, where they finished out of the medals while Canada went on to win gold.

The 12 competing nations are divided into three groups, against whom they will each play three games. Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia are in Group B with the United States. Based on each team's records in these games, they will be given a ranking, 1 through 12, heading into a final playoff round.

Team USA's first matchup is against Slovenia on Feb. 14 at 9:10 p.m. local time.

Kolarik was a star in his years at the University of Michigan, helping them to the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals in 2008, his senior year.

According to his Team USA bio, Kolarik has since amassed eight years of professional hockey, including time spent in the minor leagues, overseas, and in the NHL.

He is married to former University of Michigan All-American gymnast Kylee Botterman.

AP Photo/Mike Groll