Canada Camp Showcases Strong League Presence
CALGARY, Alta. – A total of 18 current and former ECAC Hockey standouts are among a group of 64 players who have been invited to attend Canada’s National Women’s Team evaluation camp, scheduled for September 22-26 at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena and Norma Bush Arena in Calgary, Hockey Canada announced Friday.
The camp roster includes eight goaltenders, 20 defencemen and 36 forwards. The players will be divided into four teams and will take part in practices and a series of intrasquad games, culminating with first-place and third-place games on Sunday, September 26.
Included on the roster are eight current members of the Cornell Big Red and two current members of the Clarkson Golden Knights. Big Red representatives include goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, defensemen Laura Fortino, Lauriane Rougeau and forwards Jessica Campbell, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Chelsea Karpenko and Catherine White of Cornell. Katelyn Ptolemy and Jamie Lee Rattray represent Clarkson.
Former League standouts feature forward Dominque Thibault of Clarkson; forwards Gillian Apps and Cherie Piper of Dartmouth; goaltender Christina Kessler, and forwards Jennifer Botterill and Sarah Vaillancourt of Harvard; and defensemen Annie Guay and Britni Smith of St. Lawrence.
Seventeen members of Canada’s gold medal-winning team from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. are on the roster, as well as all 22 members of Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team, which swept the United States in a three-game series held in Toronto this August, and two members of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 August Team.
This evaluation camp is the first step in determining Canada’s National Women’s Team for various competitions during the 2010-11 season.
“This camp includes a terrific mix of veterans and young players, and we look forward to a competitive few days in Calgary,” said Brad Pascall, vice-president of Hockey Operations/National Teams for Hockey Canada. “This should be an exciting start to the 2010-11 season, as our women’s program works towards the 4 Nations Cup and beyond.
