Gretchen Ulion

{{Short description|American ice hockey player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| image_size = 230px

| position = Forward

| shoots =

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 130

| team = Dartmouth

| league = ECAC

| sex = f

| ntl_team = USA

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|5|4}}

| birth_place = Marlborough, Connecticut, U.S.

| career_start = 1990

| career_end = 1998

| website =

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalSport | Women's ice hockey}}

{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games}}

{{MedalGold| 1998 Nagano | Team competition}}

{{MedalCompetition | World Championships}}

{{MedalSilver | {{nowrap|1994 United States}} | {{nowrap|Team competition}}}}

{{MedalSilver | 1997 Canada | Team competition}}

}}

Gretchen A. Ulion Silverman (born May 4, 1972) {{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ul/gretchen-ulion-1.html |title=Gretchen Ulion Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |access-date=2011-01-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217042806/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ul/gretchen-ulion-1.html |archive-date=2010-02-17 }} is an American ice hockey player. She won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At Dartmouth College, she was and is still today the Dartmouth Big Green women's ice hockey program's all-time leading scorer with 189 goals and 312 points,{{cite web |url=http://dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11600&ATCLID=645017 |title=All-Time - DartmouthSports.com—Official Web Site of Dartmouth Varsity Athletics |website=dartmouthsports.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724231604/http://dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11600&ATCLID=645017 |archive-date=2011-07-24}} served as the captain of the Dartmouth Big Green during the 1993–94 season,{{cite web |url=http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=11600&ATCLID=204919644&SPID=4726&SPSID=48905 |title=Women's Hockey Team Captains - DartmouthSports.com—Official Web Site of Dartmouth Varsity Athletics |website=www.dartmouthsports.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002061819/http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=11600&ATCLID=204919644&SPID=4726&SPSID=48905 |archive-date=2011-10-02}} and was twice the Ivy League Player of the Year.{{Cite news|url=https://collinsvillepress.com/2018/04/womens-hockey-pioneer-ulion-silverman-to-be-honored-with-a-gold-key/17071/|title=Women's hockey pioneer Ulion-Silverman to be honored with a Gold Key – The Collinsville Press|access-date=2018-05-01|language=en-US}}

In the gold medal game at the 1998 Winter Olympics, Ulion scored the first goal of the game.IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, p.52, Szymon Szenberg and Andrew Podnieks, 2008, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, {{ISBN|978-1-55168-358-4}} It was also the first ever goal scored in an Olympic women's ice hockey gold medal game. Ulion was featured on the Wheaties box in 1998.{{cite web |url=http://www.jwen.com/hock/whock/whockmain.html |title=Document Title |website=www.jwen.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000520201418/http://www.jwen.com/hock/whock/whockmain.html |archive-date=2000-05-20}}

Along with the rest of the 1998 gold medal-winning team, Ulion was admitted to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/833079-1998-u-s-olympic-women-s-ice-hockey-team|title=1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team|website=www.ushockeyhalloffame.com|language=en-us|access-date=2018-05-01}} She also received a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance on April 29, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://collinsvillepress.com/2018/04/womens-hockey-pioneer-ulion-silverman-to-be-honored-with-a-gold-key/17071/|title=Women's hockey pioneer Ulion-Silverman to be honored with a Gold Key – The Collinsville Press|access-date=2018-05-01|language=en-US}}

In addition to serving as a U18 instructor and motivational speaker for USA Hockey,{{Cite web|url=https://www.taftschool.org/athletics/coaches/profile/~const-id/3031|title=Profile - Taft School|website=www.taftschool.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-01}}{{Cite news|url=https://teamusa.usahockey.com/news_article/show/678377?referrer_id=2690912|title=Ulion-Silverman Continues to Impact Women's Hockey in U.S.|last=USAHockey.com|date=2016-08-11|work=Team USA Hockey|access-date=2018-05-01|language=en-us}} Ulion is the head coach of the women's ice hockey team at Post University.{{Cite web|url=https://posteagles.com/staff-directory/gretchen-silverman/307 |title=Gretchen Silverman |website=posteagles.com |access-date=2024-01-28}}