COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey today announced the 24-player roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team that will play Canada in a pair of games beginning tomorrow, December 17, at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, at 4:30 p.m. ET as part of the first-ever Team USA Winter Champions Series. The two rivals will play again on December 19, at 7 p.m ET at Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ontario.
Of the 24 players on the roster, 13 are Olympians and 23 are World Champions. The 13 members of the silver medal-winning 2014 U.S. Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team are Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.), Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.), Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.), Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.), Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.), Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho), Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (Grand Forks, N.D.), Monique Lamoureux-Morando (Grand Forks, N.D.), Anne Schleper (St. Cloud, Minn.), Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio) and Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.).
Highlighting the roster is 22 members of the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the Four Nations Cup in early November and 20 players that won the gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April.
The 24 players represent 13 different states. Massachusetts leads the pack with four representatives followed by Wisconsin with three, while Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and North Dakota have two. California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Ohio, and Vermont all have one representative. For a complete roster and staff listing, click here.
Since falling to Canada in overtime, 3-2, and earning a silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the U.S. Women’s National Team has played Canada in five international events (two IIHF Women’s World Championships and three Four Nations Cups), winning four of five titles and seven of 10 games overall.
The Team USA Winter Champions Series is a daylong celebration of the Road to Pyeongchang that will feature three Olympic events broadcast on NBC and NBCSN. In addition to hockey, the series will include luge and the new Olympic event of big air snowboarding.
NOTES: The U.S. Women’s National Team was selected at the conclusion of the USA Hockey Women’s Winter Training Camp held December 12-15, 2016 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. As part of the Team USA Winter Champions Series, tomorrow’s U.S.-Canada women’s hockey game will be broadcast live on NBCSN with Gord Miller calling the play-by-play, Olympic gold-medalist A.J. Mleczko providing color commentary and Leila Rahimi serving as the rinkside reporter. The Team USA Winter Champions Series will serve as a precursor to the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship that will be held at USA Hockey Arena from March 31-April 7. Fans attending Saturday’s (Dec. 17) USA-Canada women’s game at USA Hockey Arena will receive an exclusive discounted ticket offer for the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Tickets for that contest can be purchased at the USA Arena box office or online here.
