Pucci, Former Crimson Trio Named to U.S. Preliminary Roster
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Harvard defenseman Josephine Pucci and the former Crimson trio of Caitlin Cahow, Julie Chu and Angela Ruggiero are among 30 players selected to the preliminary roster for the U.S. Women's National Team that will play in the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship, as announced today by USA Hockey. The athletes will take part in a selection/training camp in Ann Arbor, Mich., from April 4-12, with the final 21-player roster set to be announced on April 9.
The camp will take place at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, home to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, and will feature two pre-world championship games against Canada on April 7 and 8.
The U.S. squad will depart on April 12 for the 2011 IIHF World Women's Championship, which runs from April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland. There, the Americans will be looking to defend their back-to-back world titles from 2008 and 2009 (a world championship was not held in 2010 due to the Olympic Winter Games).
The preliminary roster includes 27 skaters (18 forwards, nine defensemen) and three goaltenders. The roster will be reduced by nine skaters to form the final 21-player squad.
Sixteen members of the U.S. Women's National Team that competed in the 2010 Women's Four Nations Cup in November are vying for roster spots. There are a total of 16 Olympians on the preliminary list, including 15 who captured the world title with Team USA in 2009. Four players on the roster are coming off a gold-medal performance at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship earlier this month, while a total of 12 have won gold medals with the U18 team.
