IIHF Hall of Fame Inductions

Former Team Canada players Geraldine Heaney and Angela James and longtime Team USA captain Cammi Granato will be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in the players category in Quebec City in April 2008. They are the first three females to receive such an honor.

Granato began playing hockey in Downer’s Grove, IL with her brothers and played for a boys team because there was no girls teams in her area at that time. She is the all-time leading scorer in international competition in official events with 54 goals and 42 assists for 96 points. She was a part of every U.S. team from the first World Championships in 1990 to the final one that she played for when the Americans won the gold in 2005.

Granato was also the captain of two Olympic teams as she led the U.S. to the gold in 1998 where women’s hockey was an Olympic sport for the first time and the silver in 2002 before being cut from the 2006 Olympic team. For many years, she has been the face and eyes of women’s hockey both in the USA and internationally and was rewarded for all of her work with women’s hockey with the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the US this past November.

At the 1998 Nagano Olympics she was chosen to be the American flag bearer in the closing ceremonies. Over the course of 11 tournaments with the U.S. team, Granato received two gold and nine silver medals, and was a role model and hero as she played an important part in the growth and development of the game in the United States.

She was awarded the best forward award from the IIHF Directorate following the 1992 World Championships and made the all-star team on three occasions (1992, 1997, 2002).
Granato is also the all-time leading scorer at Providence College with 256 points (139G, 117A) where she attended school from 1989-93.

At the conclusion of the 1989-90 season, Granato was also named the ECAC Rookie of the Year and three times won the Player Of The Year Award (1991-1993). She resides in Vancouver, BC with her husband and former NHLer, Ray Ferraro, and their one-year-old son Riley. She is also the color commentator for NBC’s coverage of the NHL and covered women’s hockey for them at the 2006 Olympics.

Heaney’s career started at the age of 13 in 1980 with the Beatrice Aeros, and she became the first player in the world to win seven world championships in a row. The crowning glory of her career came with Team Canada’s gold medal win at the 2002 Olympics. After that she retired. She won the silver medal at the 1998 Olympics.

Heaney played 125 games for Team Canada scoring 27 goals and assisting on 66 others. She is the all-time leading scorer amongst defenders and was fifth in scoring overall. Her 125 games is the benchmark for Team Canada. Heaney has also won quite a few championships with the Aeros.

Fans consider James to be the first true superstar of the modern female game. She played for Team Canada from 1990-97 leading Canada to gold in all four world championships (1990, 1992, 1994, and 1997). Her most notable tournament was the 1990 Worlds in Ottawa as she netted 11 goals over five games which is still a record.

Team Canada’s 8-0 beating of Team USA at the 1992 Worlds still stands as the most one- sided result in a women’s hockey final. James was a part of that team and scored 22 goals and added 12 assists in 20 games at the World Championships. She made the tournament all-star team in 1992.

At the Canadian Women’s Nationals, James won more than a dozen medals and was the tournament MVP eight times. She was an idol to an inspired future Team Canada players such as Hayley Wickenheiser and Cassie Campbell. Today, James is the owner of the Breakaway Adult Hockey School and director of the women’s hockey school at Seneca College.

Wickenheiser Wins Bobbie Rosenfeld Award

On Friday, Team Canada forward Hayley Wickenheisier became the first hockey player to win the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year. She told the Canadian Press that she was honored to win the award as it is great for women’s hockey as it has gained a level of respect in the media.

Wickenheiser was instrumental in helping Team Canada win the 2007 World Championships in Winnipeg and Selkirk, MB last year as she was named the MVP of the tournament scoring eight goals and helping on six others. She was also the MVP of the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games and is Canada’s all-time leading point getter with 132 goals and 147 assists in 186 games.

In 2003, Wickenheiser was also the first female to play in the men’s pro game when she helped Finland’s tier III team Salamat to be promoted as she netted 11 points over a 23 game period but returned to North America the next season after going scoreless in the tier II Mestis Liiga.

Slovakians Win Christmas Cup

On New Year’s Eve in Velden, AUT Team Slovakia won the Christmas Cup as they beat Italy 3-1, Austria 5-2, and the Netherlands 2-1. Their most problematic opponent was the Netherlands as Dutchwoman Jessie Tegelaar tied the game at 1-1 at the 19:17 mark of the second period. Slovakian Nicol Cupkova opened the scoring 9:41 into the first. Maria Herichova netted the game-winner at the 4:37 mark of overtime finishing as the tournament’s top scorer tied with teammate Lenka Srokova (2G, 2A each).

2008 World U18 Championships

Four Women’s U18 teams - Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Slovakia - did not qualify for the inaugural IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship in Calgary, Canada, from January 7 to 12, 2008. But they had the chance to show their skills in Velden am Worthersee.

US Announces U18 Roster

On Wednesday, USA Hockey announced the American roster that will complete in the World U18 championships. Returning to the roster are 11 players who completed against the Canadian U18 team in the three game U18 series.

Two of the returnees play defense - Anne Schleper and Kelly Wild - while seven are forwards - Brooke Ammerman, Kate Bacon, Ashley Cottrell, Kendall Coyne, Brianna Decker, Sarah Erickson, and Corey Stearns. The remaining two returnees are goalies Alyssa Grogan and Rebecca Ruegsegger.

The Americans will take on the Russians in their first game on Monday, January 7th.
Team USA will open competition at the 2008 IIHF World Women’s Championship on Monday, January 7, when it takes on Russia in the preliminary round.

There are two players will notable NHL names. Amanda Kessel is Boston Bruins forward Phil Kessel’s sister while Elizabeth Turgeon is the daughter of NHL veteran Pierre Turgeon.

Roster

Goalies

1 Alyssa Grogan 5'7" 160lbs. 5/15/90 L Eagan, MN Eagan High School
20 Rebecca Ruegsegger 5'8" 160lbs. 9/21/90 L Lakewood, CO Shattuck-St. Mary’s

Defense

2 Blake Bolden 5'6" 140lbs. 3/10/91 R Stow, OH Northwood School
3 Kasey Boucher 5'7" 138lbs. 10/25/90 L Lewiston, ME, North American Hockey Academy
5 Alev Kelter 5'7" 150lbs. 3/21/91 R Eagle River, AK Chugiak High School/Anchorage North Stars U19
7 Anne Schleper 5'10" 168lbs. 1/30/90 L St. Cloud, MN St. Cloud Cathedral High School
15 Sasha Sherry 6'0" 180lbs. 4/5/90 R Lehighton, PA Princeton University
8 Kelly Wild 5'3" 121lbs. 3/8/90 L Mendota Heights, MN Cretin-Derham Hall

Forwards

12 Brooke Ammerman 5'8" 155lbs. 7/13/90 R River Vale, NJ North American Hockey Academy
9 Kate Bacon 5'6" 144lbs. 4/25/90 L Chanhassen, MN Benilde-St. Margaret’s
10 Ashley Cottrell 5'5" 139lbs. 4/4/90 R Sterling Heights, MI Little Caesars U19
11 Kendall Coyne 5'0" 115lbs. 5/25/92 L Palos Heights, IL Chicago Mission U19
14 Brianna Decker 5'4" 156lbs. 5/31/91 R Dousman, WI Shattuck-St. Mary’s
16 Sarah Erickson 5'7" 135lbs. 3/28/90 R LaPorte, MN Bemidji High School
18 Amanda Kessel 5'6" 130lbs. 8/28/91 R Madison, WI Shattuck-St. Mary’s
19 Meagan Mangene 5'6" 138lbs. 8/21/92 R Manorville, NY North American Hockey Academy
21 Madison Packer 5'9" 155lbs. 6/25/91 R Birmingham, MI Little Caesars U19
17 Kelley Steadman 5'11" 160lbs. 7/17/90 R Plattsburgh, N Northwood School
22 Corey Stearns 5'9" 132lbs. 12/27/90 R Falmouth, MA Noble and Greenough School
23 Elizabeth Turgeon 5'8" 155lbs. 7/24/92 L Cherry Hills Village, CO Colorado Select U16

Head Coach: Katey Stone, Arlington, MA
Assistant Coaches: Erin Whitten Hamlen, Hampton, NH, Bob Deraney, Shrewsbury, MA

Riggs, Payne, and Prough Are CHA Players of the Week

Niagara junior forward Ashley Riggs, Mercyhurst junior defender Natalie Payne and her teammate, freshman blueliner Geena Prough, are the CHA’s offensive, defensive, and rookie players for the week ending December 30th, 2007.

Riggs had ten shots on goal in the Niagara-Yale game converting on three of them. Two of the goals gave Niagara a 2-0 lead, and the third one put them ahead 4-2 as the Purple Eagles and Bulldogs played to a 4-4 tie. She added two points at Quinnipiac with one goal and one assist. The assist came on the game’s first goal and it was the game tying one at 2-2.

Payne was a major factor as Mercyhurst was 1-1 against Dartmouth on December 15th-16th. She added two assists (one in each game) and held Dartmouth to zero for five on the power play. She had an assist in each contest and helped kill off all five DC power plays in the Lakers’ victory.

In the same series, Prough netted two goals and assisted on one. In game one, her goal gave Mercyhurst a 3-0 lead. She was a +3 in that game. In game two, her first goal gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead and she assisted on the go ahead goal as Mercyhurst went up 2-1.

Prough scored two goals and added an assist in Mercyhurst’s split at eighth-ranked Dartmouth. Her goal in the opener put the Lakers ahead 3-0 while finishing the contest with a +3 rating. The next day, she scored the first goal of the game and her assist gave MC a 2-1 lead.

Tittman, Ketchum, and Miller Take Home ECAC Honors

Yale junior forward Sarah Tittman and her teammate, freshman forward Bray Ketchum, and Quinnipiac freshman Jamie Miller take home the player of the week, rookie of the week, and goalie of the week in the ECAC. Tittman and Ketchum were instrumental in helping their team try to defend their Nutmeg Classic championship this past weekend.

Tittman netted two even strength goals against Niagara and one against Connecticut in the series, and made 14 of Yale’s 59 shots on the in the two games. On Saturday, she was named the game’s second star as Yale tied Niagara 4-4 in overtime and was the third star on Sunday as Yale lost to Connecticut 3-2. For her efforts, she was named the tournament MVP.

Ketchum assisted on Yale’s third goal in the game versus Niagara on Saturday, and was named the first star of the game. She was also +1 this past weekend and was part of Yale’s top line. This is her third rookie of the week award this season.

Miller was named the recipient of the Laurie Belliveau Award as the goalie with the best save percentage to become the first freshman and first Bobcat to win the award in the tournament’s four year history. Her save percentage for the weekend was 0.903. She stopped all four shots in the shootout on Sunday as Quinnipiac finished in third place.

Hawkins, Murphy, and Wilson are Tops in Hockey East

Connecticut swept the Hockey East awards this week as senior forward Jaclyn Hawkins, freshman forward Brittany Murphy, and junior goalie Brittany Wilson were name the offensive, rookie, and defensive players of the week, respectively. In Connecticut’s championship at the Nutmeg Classic, Hawkins had one goal and two assists this past weekend. Her goal against Yale was the game-winner as Connecticut won 3-2. She had two assists in the 3-2 win over Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Murphy had one goal and one assist in the 3-2 win over Yale for her first career multi-point game. In the same game, Wilson stopped 36 of Yale’s 38 shots. This was her eighth win of the season.

Games This Week

At the Nutmeg Classic on Saturday, Niagara and Yale played to a 4-4 OT tie, Connecticut edged Quinnipiac 3-2, Minnesota edged Robert Morris 2-1, and Bemidji State beat Vermont 4-1.

On Sunday, play concluded at the Nutmeg Classic with Niagara and Quinnipiac playing to a 3-3 OT tie, and Connecticut beating Yale 3-2 in the championship game.

Bemidji State swept their series with Vermont with a 3-2 win, while Robert Morris evened their series with Minnesota with a 7-4 thrashing.

The Leaders

Since there was no conference play this weekend, the conference standings remain the same with Mercyhurst leading the CHA with four wins, no losses, and no ties conference wise and are 14-4-2 overall. Harvard leads the ECAC as they have won all nine conference games that they have played and 11 of the 12 that they have played overall.

New Hampshire is atop the both the Hockey East conference (9-0-0) and overall (17-3-0) standings, while Minnesota-Duluth tops the WCHA in the conference (13-3-0) and overall standings with a 16-3-1 record.

Mercyhurst sophomore forward Meghan Agosta leads the CHA in conference statistics with eight goals and four assists in four CHA games played. Teammate and senior goalie Laura Hosier leads all goaltender statistics with her 3-0-0 record, 0.33 GAA, and 0.983 SAV %.

Agosta and Hosier are also the overall leaders as well as Agosta has 25 goals and 25 assists, while Hosier is 10-4-2 with a 1.97 GAA, and a 0.919 SAV %.

Dartmouth sophomore forward Jenna Cunningham leads all ECAC scorers with eight goals and 13 assists in the conference and 15 goals and 18 assists overall.

Harvard sophomore goalie Christina Kessler is the leader in the conference with eight wins in the eight games that she has played. She also sports a 1.00 GAA, and a 0.956 SAV %. Clarkson freshman Lauren Dahm’s 5-1-0 record, 0.92 GAA, and 0.943 SAV % gives her the nod overall.

In Hockey East, New Hampshire junior forward Sam Faber leads the conference statistics with seven goals and 11 assists and the overall stats with 14 goals and 15 assists. Faber’s teammate, freshman Kayley Herman, leads all conference goalies with her 8-0-0 record, 0.99 GAA, and 1.000 SAV %. She is also the overall leader with 15 wins against two losses and no ties, her 1.24 GAA, and 0.944 SAV %.

On the WCHA side, UMD teammates, sophomore forward Saara Tuominen (10G, 15A) and freshman forward Iya Gavrilova (12G, 18A), are the conference and overall leaders respectively.

In the WCHA nets, their teammate, sophomore Kim Martin, is the conference leader with 10 wins, three losses, and no ties, a goals against-average of 1.38, and a save percentage of 0.953. She also leads the overall statistics with her 13-3-1 record, 1.27 GAA, and 0.958 SAV %.

Coming Up

Play resumes on Thursday with a couple of non-conference games as Quinnipiac hosts Robert Morris, and Boston College is at home to St. Lawrence.

On Friday, Robert Morris finishes up their series with Quinnipiac, Providence is at Niagara, and Connecticut is hosting Princeton in non-conference action.

Three games will take place in the ECAC as Union travels to Rensselaer, Dartmouth is hosting Colgate, and Harvard is at home to Cornell.

In WCHA action, Bemidji State travels to St. Cloud State, Ohio State hosts North Dakota, and Minnesota State is at home to Wisconsin.

Saturday’s non-conference action will see Wayne State host Minnesota, Providence traveling to Niagara, Vermont at home to Clarkson, New Hampshire traveling to Providence, RI for a game versus Brown, Northeastern making their way into New Haven to face Yale, Princeton going into Connecticut, and Minnesota finishing up their series with Wayne State.

In ECAC action, Union hosts Rensselaer, Harvard faces Colgate at home, and Dartmouth hosts Cornell.

The three series that started in the WCHA on Friday night will finish up Saturday as Bemidji State, North Dakota, and Wisconsin finish their series with St. Cloud State, Ohio State, and Minnesota State, respectively.