Lilli Welcke

Lilli Welcke
Born (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002
Heidelberg, Germany
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 66 kg (146 lb; 10 st 6 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
HE team
Former teams		 Boston University Terriers
Maine Black Bears
Mad Dogs Mannheim
National team  Germany
Playing career 2016–present

Lilli Welcke (born 29 April 2002) is a German ice hockey player. She has played on the German national ice hockey team since 2022. Welcke participated in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[1]

Playing career

College

Welcke began her college ice hockey career in the 2022–23 season with the Maine Black Bears women's ice hockey program in the Hockey East (HEA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month for December 2022 after leading all HEA rookies in November with six points on one goal and five assists.[2] She earned 21 points on six goals and fifteen assists in her first NCAA season and was an unanimous selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.[3]

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, she transferred within the HEA conference to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey program. In her first season with the Terriers, Welcke tallied ten points on one goal and nine assists. As a junior in the 2024–25 season, she led the Terriers in faceoff wins and scored seventeen points (5+12).[4]

International play

As a junior player with the German national under-18 team, Welcke participated in four IIHF U18 Women's World Championship – three Division 1 Group A tournaments and one Top Division tournament. At the Top Division tournament in 2018, she tied as Germany's point leader with two goals and two assists.

Welcke made her debut with the senior national team in the qualification tournament for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Though Germany failed to qualify, Welcke led the team in scoring with two goals and two assists across three games.

She has represented Germany at the IIHF Women's World Championship in 2022, 2024, and 2025. Welcke was named to the German team for the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship but sustained a lower body injury in a pre-tournament match againt Switzerland and was replaced on the roster by Jule Schiefer.[5]

In the preliminary round of the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Germany prevailed versus France in a 2–1 overtime win.[6] Welcke notched the primary assist on the overtime winner scored by Nina Jobst-Smith.[7]

Personal life

Welcke and her twin sister, Luisa, were born on 29 April 2002 in Heidelberg, Germany. Lilli, Luisa, and their elder sister, Lea, began playing minor ice hockey after participating in an ice hockey camp held at the Heidelberg Christmas Market outdoor rink. Lilli and Luise have played on the same teams throughout their careers.[8][9][10]

An accomplished student-athlete, Welcke was named a Top Scholar-Athlete of the 2022–23 Hockey East All-Academic Team after compiling a perfect 4.0 GPA for the season.[11][12] She continued to achieve at least a 3.0 GPA in the following seasons and was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Teams in 2023–24 and 2024–25.[13][14]

Career statistics

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Germany U18 D1A 1st 5 2 0 2 0
2018 Germany U18 8th 5 2 2 4 4
2019 Germany U18 D1A 2nd 5 4 2 6 2
2020 Germany U18 D1A 1st 5 2 1 3 4
2022 Germany OGQ DNQ 3 2 2 4 0
2022 Germany WC 9th 4 0 1 1 0
2024 Germany WC 6th 6 1 3 4 4
2025 Germany OGQ Q 3 2 1 3 2
2025 Germany WC 8th 5 1 3 4 2
2026 Germany OG 7th 5 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 20 10 5 15 10
Senior totals 20 2 8 10 8

Awards and honours

  • 2023 Hockey East All-Rookie Team[3]
  • 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, Top-Three Player on Team[15]

References

  1. ^ "Lilli WELKE". Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Natalie Mlynkovka Named Hockey East Player of the Month". Hockey East Association (Press release). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Hockey East Names Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team". Hockey East Association (Press release). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  4. ^ "2025-26 Women's Ice Hockey Roster: Lilli Welcke". Boston University Athletics. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Frauen-Nationalmannschaft gewinnt WM-Auftakt gegen Schweden". German Ice Hockey Federation (in German). 6 April 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  6. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (9 February 2026). "Germany keeps QF hopes alive". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Ice hockey - Italy go into quarters, US stay unbeaten, Germany beat France in overtime". The Straits Times. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Lilli und Luise Welcke – "Nur beim Eishockey waren Plätze frei"". Sport Radio Deutschland (in German). 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  9. ^ Schwager-Patel, Nischal (4 February 2025). "Ice Hockey: Identical twins Luisa and Lilli Welcke join forces to return Germany to the Olympic stage". Olympics.com. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  10. ^ Cloutier, Eli (9 February 2025). "BU Athletes Heading to Winter Olympics". BU Today. Retrieved 11 February 2026. Luisa Welcke (CAS'26) and Lilli Welcke (CAS'26) are representing Team Germany
  11. ^ "Record 185 Student-Athletes Named to 2022-23 Women's All-Academic Team". Hockey East Association (Press release). 20 June 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Twenty-one Women's Ice Hockey Players Named to Hockey East All-Academic Team". Maine Black Bears. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Record 198 Student-Athletes Named to 2023-24 Women's All-Academic Team". Hockey East Association (Press release). 18 June 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Record 205 Student-Athletes Named to Women's All-Academic Team". Hockey East Association. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  15. ^ "2025 IIHF Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches". International Ice Hockey Federation. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
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