Howser Selected for NCAA’s Frozen Four Skills Challenge

Photo by Sam Rubin

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Senior forward Crysti Howser (Wilmette, Ill.) has been selected to participate in the NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. Howser will be one of six female skaters to represent the East in the event, which takes place Apr. 10 during the NCAA men’s ice hockey Frozen Four at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Goaltender Alec Richards (Robbinsdale, Minn.) of the Yale men’s team was also selected, as was senior defenseman Helen Resor (Greenwich, Conn.), but Resor will be unable to participate because she will be with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Hameenlinna, Finland.

The NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge competition will be held in an East vs. West format with each team having six male position players, six female position players, two male goaltenders and two female goaltenders. The competitions will include puck control relay, fastest skater, hardest shot, rapid fire shooting, accuracy shooting and penalty shot. Each student-athlete will participate in a minimum of one event and specific event assignments will be determined once all participants arrive in Washington, D.C.

The Skills Challenge participants will also participate in a youth clinic to be held on Saturday morning and an autograph session prior to the men’s championship game on Saturday night.

This past season, Howser became just the third player in Yale history to lead the team in scoring for four straight seasons. Her 24 points (13-11-24) gave her 116 for her career, placing her second on Yale’s career points list behind Maria Dennis ’88 (164). Howser is third on Yale’s career goals list (57) and third on Yale’s career assists list (59). She also has the third-best single-season goal total in school history (22, 2006-07) and the fourth-best single-season point total in school history (37, 2006-07). She was an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection last year. The Bulldogs won 49 games during her class’ tenure, more than all but two classes in Yale history.

Howser has also been a part of the USA Hockey program. She was a member of USA Hockey’s Under-22 Select team each of the past two summers, playing in the annual three-game series against Team Canada. She scored a goal for the U.S. this past summer. Howser was tied for fifth in scoring at the 2007 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival and also was invited to USA Hockey’s Holiday Camp in December of that year, training as part of a group of 56 of the top players in the country. Prior to coming to Yale she was a part of multiple USA Hockey player development camps.

This marks the third time in the event’s four-year history that Yale women’s hockey will be represented at the NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. Goaltender Sarah Love ’06 participated in the inaugural skills competition, won by the East. Forward Sheila Zingler ‘07 was a part of the event in 2007.

The events on “Friday Night at the Frozen Four” will start with the presentation of the Hockey Humanitarian Award at 6:30 p.m., with Howser among 10 finalists for the award due to her extensive community service work. The night will also include the presentation of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award to the top men’s college hockey player at 7:00 p.m. and the Frozen Four Skills Challenge at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets for “Friday Night at the Frozen Four” are $10 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or by phone at (202) 397-SEAT. Tickets are also on sale at all Ticketmaster locations and the Verizon Center box office. For a complete schedule of events, including times, refer to the fan guide or www.gwsportsalliance.com/frozenfour/index.html.