Gophers on the International Stage Next Week:
Final pre-Olympic international games scheduled next week - six current Gophers, five alumnae expected to see action
Six members of the current Gopher Women's Hockey team and five Minnesota alumnae are expected to see action playing for their respective national teams next week, the final tune-ups for the nations who qualified for February's Olympic Winter Games in Milan & Cortina, Italy.
Six players at Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series – The Rivalry Series between the national teams of Canada and the United States continues with the Americans holding a two games-to-none advantage after a pair of victories in November (4-1 in Cleveland, OH, and 6-1 in Buffalo, NY). The two squads will meet on Wednesday, December 10 and Saturday, December 13, with both games starting at 7 p.m. MT / 8 p.m. CT at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. USA Hockey has not published a new roster for the next two games; Abbey Murphy and alums Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, and Grace Zumwinkle were named to the team back in October. Meanwhile, Gopher sophomore defender Chloe Primerano was announced this past Monday to Canada's roster for the upcoming contests, both of which will be televised on NHL Network in the U.S. and TSN in Canada.
Bouveng, Laitinen, Plosová, Mlýnková at Women's Euro Hockey Tour – Meanwhile, four Gopher representatives will be participating at the Women's Euro Hockey Tour's next stop in Lahti & Hämeenlinna, Finland, on Wednesday through Friday, December 10-12. Freshman Tereza Plosová and alumna Natálie Mlýnková were named to Czechia's National Team roster on November 28, senior defender Nelli Laitinen was named as a member of host Finland's team this past Tuesday (Dec. 2), and senior forward Josefin Bouveng was announced as a member of the Sweden National Team on Thursday (Dec. 4). The four-team event also includes Switzerland, with the following game schedule:
Czechia vs. Switzerland – Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Finland vs. Sweden – Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Czechia vs. Sweden – Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Finland vs. Switzerland – Thursday, Dec. 11 at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Switzerland vs. Sweden – Friday, Dec. 12 at 6:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Finland vs. Czechia – Friday, Dec. 12 at 10:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Kreisz at Four Nations Tournament – In a separate Four Nations Tournament being played in Dunkirk, France on December 11 through 13, Gopher junior Emma Kreisz will be playing on the Hungary National Team after being named to that squad's roster on Thursday (Dec. 4). In addition to France and Hungary, Japan and Slovakia are also participating with the following game schedule:
Hungary vs. Japan – Thursday, Dec. 11 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Central
France vs. Slovakia – Thursday, Dec. 11 at 12:30 p.m. U.S. Central
Japan vs. Slovakia – Friday, Dec. 12 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Central
France vs. Hungary – Friday, Dec. 12 at 12:30 p.m. U.S. Central
Hungary vs. Slovakia – Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Central
France vs. Japan – Saturday, Dec. 13 at 12:30 p.m. U.S. Central
Germany to play Austria home-and-home – Another Olympic participant, the Germany National Team, will also be in action, playing Austria in a pair of games next weekend: Saturday, December 13 in Memmingen, Germany, and Sunday, December 14 in Dornbirn, Austria.
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