Women’s National Team Gears Up for World Championships
The USA Women’s National Team is headed to East Meadow, New York, this week for pre-camp leading up to the IIHF Women’s World Championships in Malmo, Sweden. The camp runs March 20-26.
The 23-player roster includes 13 members of the 2014 Olympic team, which came away with the silver medal in Sochi. Those players include power houses Hilary Knight, Megan Duggan, Brianna Decker, and goaltenders Molly Shaus, Jessie Vetter and Alex Rigsby.
Ten players on the roster are still playing college hockey on their respective teams, will join the team at camp following their teams’ progress from the Frozen Four in Minnesota. Five members of Boston College’s squad, including Olympian Alex Carpenter. Minnesota leading scorer Hannah Brandt, and Gophers teammate Lee Stecklein will also join the USA National Team. Michelle Picard of the Harvard Crimson and Annie Pankowski of the Wisconsin Badgers will also join the team at the end of their college team’s run.
The roster includes six Massachusetts natives: Carpenter, of North Reading; Duggan, of Danvers; Shaus, of Natick; Picard, of Taunton; and Kacey Bellamy, of Westfield.
Camp will consist of seven days of on-ice practices, with at least two days of double-sessions. View the full practice schedule here.
The team will travel to Malmo and start practices there on March 27.
The team’s tournament schedule is:
| Date | Opponent | Time (EST) |
| March 28 | Canada | 10 a.m. |
| March 29 | Finland | 2 p.m. |
| March 31 | Russia | 6 a.m. |
| April 1 | Quarterfinals | TBD |
| April 3 | Semifinals | TBD |
| April 4 | Bronze medal game Gold medal game |
TBD |
Ken Klee, who coached the U.S. Women’s team at the Four Nations Cup in 2014, will coach the team.
The U.S. won the gold medal in last IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2013, and has faced off against Canada in the gold medal game in all 15 prior championships.
The U.S. has won the championship a total of five times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013).
