Thomas Pettersen has agreed a deal to be the Norwegian women's ice hockey team's head coach ©IIHF/Nicolas Zangerle

Thomas Pettersen has been appointed as the new head coach of the Norwegian women’s national team.

He has signed a two-season contract with the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association to lead the side after spending the last couple of years as the team’s assistant coach.

Pettersen replaces Laura Rollins, the coach of the last two years.

They had also previously spent five seasons as the Norwegian women’s under-18 side’s head and assistant coaches before stepping up the senior outfit.

For the last 10 years, Norway’s women have been competing in the second tier - Division I Group A - of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships.

Norway's women currently play in Division I Group A of the IIHF World Championships ©Getty Images
Norway's women currently play in Division I Group A of the IIHF World Championships ©Getty Images

In the most recent edition of the competition in April, Norway finished third in the group behind Japan and host nation Austria.

They have never qualified for the Winter Olympics since women's ice hockey was added to the sports programme at Nagano 1998.

In 2018, Division I Group A will be staged in Strasbourg, France, between April 8 and 14.

Alongside the hosts and Norway, Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Slovakia will all be in the group.

The country who top the table will earn promotion to the 2019 IIHF World Championships in Finland.