June 15, 2017
VIENNA - Former Penn State women's hockey forward Laura Bowman (Minnetonka, Minn.) has signed a professional contract with the EHV Sabres Vienna for the 2017-18 season. Bowman becomes the second Nittany Lion in program history to play professional hockey, as Jenna Welch played for the DEC Salzburg Eagles during the 2014-15 season.
"I am extremely excited to continue my hockey career with the EHV Sabres Vienna," Bowman said. "It's a great opportunity for me to travel around Europe and continue to do something I love."
The EHV Sabres Vienna play in the Elite Women's Hockey League (EWHL), which consists of teams from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Slovakia. The EHV Sabres Vienna lead the league with five EWHL titles. Along with the EWHL, the team also competes in the Austrian Women's Hockey League, which it has won for the last eight years in-a-row and 14 times overall.
Bowman, who graduated with a 3.95 grade point average in biochemistry and molecular biology, is a member of the Schreyer Honors College.
On the ice, Bowman closed out her Nittany Lion career with 104 points on 61 goals and 43 assists; her 104 points and 61 goals are both program records.
As the team captain during her senior season in 2016-17, Bowman became the first Nittany Lion to tally 100 career points, and she set single-season program records in points (32) and goals (18). This past season, Bowman also became the first Nittany Lion to receive All-College Hockey America (CHA) First Team honors.
Off the ice, Bowman became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history by earning second team honors earlier this month. Along with her CoSIDA Academic All-America plaudit, Bowman is a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large honoree, a three-time member of the All-CHA Academic Team, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.