CALGARY, ALBERTA – Hockey Canada announced the roster of 22 players named to Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team on Sunday. Canada’s National Under-22 Team will be facing the U.S. National Under-22 Team in a three-game series (August 25, 26 and 28) in Lake Placid, NY and Burlington, VT.

The roster announcement comes after a seven-day development camp attended by forty-four of top under-22 aged players in Canada which was held in Waterloo, ON. The team is composed of 14 returning players from the 2002-03 squad and eight rookies (Kehler, Bonhomme, Goguen, Matthews, Agosta, Harbec, Jones, Marin). One of the 14 returning players is Meaghan Mikkelson, sister of Gold medal winning U18 summer team member Brendan Mikkelson. Also, of the 14 returning players, one player, Apps is a two-time member of the Under 22 Squad (2002-03 & 2003-04) and 2 players, McArthur and Walton are three-time members of the Under 22 Squad having participated from 2001-02 through 2003-04.

CANADA vs. USA Game Schedule (August 25-28, 2004)

Lake Placid (1980 Rink), NY and Burlington (University of Vermont), VT

Wednesday, August 25 7 pm (ET) Canada U22 vs. USA U22 Lake Placid, N.Y.

Thursday, August 26 7 pm (ET) Canada U22 vs. USA U22 Lake Placid, N.Y.

Saturday, August 28 1 pm (ET) Canada U22 vs. USA U22 Burlington, Vt.

Head Coach Peter Smith and assistant coaches Lisa MacDonald and Barry Medori selected the team with the assistance of Wally Kozak, Hockey Canada’s Women’s Program Head Scout. Over the course of the 2003-04 season, Kozak oversaw a team of scouts and attended games, tournaments and championships all over North America, including but not limited to, the Esso Nationals, CIS Nationals and the NWHL.

Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Program was launched by Hockey Canada during the 1998-1999 season. The program provides female hockey players under the age of 22 with an opportunity to be evaluated against the best Under 22 players in Canada. The program also provides the players with an opportunity to gain international experience which includes playing on a bigger ice surface, high performance coaching, international travel and different playing styles and systems. The Under-22 program identifies and evaluates players that potentially will move on to Canada’s National Women’s team and/or Women’s Olympic team in the future.

For further information on the National Women’s Under-22 Team program and Hockey Canada, visit Hockey Canada’s official website at www.hockeycanada.ca