December 8, 2009

Big Red Trio to Represent Canada

ITHACA, N.Y. -- A trio of Cornell women's hockey team members have been selected to represent Canada in the 2010 MLP Cup in Germany, announced on Tuesday by Hockey Canada. Sophomore forward Catherine White and freshmen defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau will join the Canadian U22 team in the international competition, to be held on Jan. 5-9, 2010, in Ravensburg, Germany.

The trio were selected after participating in the Canada U22 camp during August, playing three games against the Canadian National Team as part of that team's buildup to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

White currently leads the Big Red offense with 15 points in 14 games, scoring five goals and adding 10 assists. Fortino and Rougeau, meanwhile, stand tied for third in scoring with eight points apiece. White stands tied for 29th in the nation in points per game at 1.09, while Rougeau and Fortino are tied for 18th in country in scoring among defensemen.

The current Cornell trio will be joined on Team Canada by future Cornellian Brianne Jenner, who was named to the U22 team after being released from the Canadian National Team on Nov. 25. Jenner will enroll at Cornell in August 2010 and join the team for the 2010-11 season.

Canada will compete at the MLP Cup in Pool A along with Finland and Russia, with Germany, Sweden and Switzerland comprising Pool B. The top two teams in each pool will face off in the semifinals, with the winners meeting on Jan. 10 for the gold medal match. Canada has won the MLP Cup six times, settling for silver last season.

Cornell closed out the first half of the 2009-10 season with an 8-4-2 overall record and tied atop ECAC Hockey with a 7-1-2 mark in league games. The Big Red is ranked seventh in the nation in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll and is eighth in the USCHO.com poll.