Eri Kiribuchi

Eri Kiribuchi (born in Tokyo, Japan) is an ice hockey goaltender that has played competitive hockey in four different countries (Japan, Czech Republic, United States, Canada). In the United States, she played for the Bemidji State Beavers women's ice hockey program and participated in Canada with the Carleton Lady Ravens.

Playing career
Her native Japan hosted the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, and this was her first major exposure to the sport of ice hockey. After seeing the Czech Republic claim the gold in men’s ice hockey, she advised her parents that she wanted to play there. In 2000, Kiribuchi, joined by her mother and brother, relocated to Prague. Despite living in Prague, she was able to improve her skills by playing in Canada at the World Hockey Centre in Toronto. Several yeras later, she was recruited by the Bemidji University Beavers and competed there from 2008 to 2010, before joining the Carleton Lady Ravens in Ottawa, Canada. As a member of the Beavers, Kiribuchi was placed into a backup role to Slovakian national team goalie Zuzana Tomcikova. Her first exposure to Carleton University came at the 2009 Winter World University Games. Kiribuchi was a goaltender for her native Japan while Lady Ravens head coach, Shelley Coolidge, was the head coach for the Canadian contingent that would win the gold medal. Coolidge had learned that she was interested in playing university hockey in Canada. Upon receiving this information, Coolidge recruited Kiribuchi to Carleton from Bemidji State in time for the 2010–11 Carleton Lady Ravens season. Her debut with the Carleton Lady Ravens was in autumn 2010 against the Toronto Lady Blues program. In a preseason match, Kiribuchi shut out the Lady Blues for the win.

Personal
Based on her playing experiences, Kiribuchi is fluent in three languages (her native tongue Japanese, Czech, and English).