Minnesota's status as the nation's best state for girls' and women's hockey will be on display Wednesday through Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y., when USA Hockey's Under-18 and Under-22 Select Teams face rival Canada in a three-game series.
Both the under-18 and under-22 teams feature 12 players with Minnesota ties among their 22-player rosters. The teams were selected through evaluations by coaches and officials during the Women's National Festival, which ran Aug. 5 through Tuesday.
For the under-18 team, players will Minnesota ties are forwards Daniel Burgen (Chisago Lakes), Kathryn Davis (Meridian, Idaho, and Edina High School), Lacey Eden (Shattuck-St. Mary's), Peyton Hemp (Andover), Gabby Krause (Andover), Makenna Webster (Shattuck) and Audrey Wethington (Edina); defenders Brenna Furhman (Farmington), Rory Guilday (Chanhassen), Maggie Nicholson (Minnetonka) and Maddy Samoskevich (Shattuck); and goalie Skylar Vetter (Lakeville).
"We had a really competitive camp this year," Minnesota Duluth coach Maura Crowell, who coaches the under-18 team, told USA Hockey. "The overall talent was very high, so we had some tough decisions to make. We have a great group of girls, lots of returners and a lot of new faces as well.''
The under-22 team, coached by Gophers associate head coach Joel Johnson, has players with Minnesota ties in forwards Sydney Brodt (North Oaks, Minnesota Duluth), Clair DeGeorge (Bemidji State), Taylor Heise (Lake City, Gophers), Gabbie Hughes (Lino Lakes, Minnesota Duluth), Presley Norby (Minnetonka, Wisconsin), Natalie Snodgrass (Eagan, Connecticut), Taylor Wente (Plymouth, Gophers) and Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Gophers); defenders Emily Brown (Blaine, Gophers), Patti Marshall (Buffalo, Gophers) and Madeline Wethington (Edina, Gophers); and goalie Emma Polusny (Mound, St. Cloud State).
"This past week has been really great," Johnson told USA Hockey. "Our coaching staff and evaluation staff had a lot of tough decisions, but we've picked a group that we feel is going to lead us to success."
The under-18 team plays Canada at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday at Saturday, while the under-22 team faces the Canadians at 6 p.m. those same days. All games will be streamed live at HockeyTV.com.
