October 24, 2014

CIS announces Canadian women’s hockey roster for 2015 Winter Universiade

OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Friday the Canadian women’s hockey roster for the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.

OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Friday the Canadian women's hockey roster for the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.

The 27^th biennial Games will run from Feb. 4-14, with the women's hockey final set for Feb. 13.

Just 13 months after winning a third straight gold medal in Trentino, Italy in December 2013, the Canadians head to Spain as the favourites with a perfect 21-0 overall record since the women's hockey competition made its FISU debut in Harbin, China in 2009. There, Canada defeated the host Chinese 3-1 to win the inaugural gold medal before following that triumph with a 4-1 win against Finland in 2011 (Erzurum, Turkey) and a 5-0 defeat of Russia in Trentino.

The women's hockey schedule in Granada has yet to be announced, but Canada will be in Pool B with Russia and Kazakhstan. Pool A consists of host Spain, the United States, China, and Japan.

Head Coach Jon Rempel and his staff, including assistants Bruce Donaldson (UPEI) and Jim Hunter (University of Windsor), made the team selections. The 20-player roster features standouts from across the four CIS conferences, including seven from OUA, five from Canada West, and four each from AUS and RSEQ.

"Our coaching staff believes that the experience of the returning players from last year's squad combined with an influx of energy from a number of first-time players going to this event will make this year's team very tough to play against," said Rempel, a two-time Canada West coach of the year who has led the Manitoba Bisons to five CIS championship appearances in his 11 seasons at the helm.

Four players from the 2013 championship team will make a return appearance at the tournament: goaltender Élodie Rousseau-Sirois from the University of Montreal, McGill defenceman Brittany Fouracres, as well as forwards Laura Brooker of Wilfrid Laurier and Alex Normore from StFX.

Brooker picked up a goal and an assist in the gold medal game against Russia in Trentino and finished the seven-game tournament with seven goals and three helpers. Normore (7-9-16) and Fouracres (1-10-11) contributed 16 and 11 points, respectively, while Rousseau-Sirois posted a 3-0 record against Spain, the USA and Japan.

Montreal leads the way with three selections for the Granada tourney, with Rousseau-Sirois joined by rearguard Élizabeth Mantha and forward Ariane Barker. Alberta, St. Francis Xavier and Windsor each had two players selected to the team.

Barker, Brooker and Normore will be joined up front by Alberta teammates Tess Houston and Jessica Kampjes, Daley Oddy of StFX, Jenny MacKnight and Bree Polci of Windsor, Jessica Fickel of Brock, Breanna Lanceleve of Saint Mary's, Maggie Litchfield-Medd of Manitoba, as well as Morgan McHaffie, a recent Queen's graduate.

On the blue line, Fouracres, whose double-overtime goal gave the Martlets a CIS championship last spring, played for the national women's development team in a three-game series against the USA last August in Calgary. She will be joined by Montreal's Mantha, Sarah Casorso from UBC, Saskatchewan's Julia Flinton, Keirsten Visser from UPEI and Katelyn Gosling of Western. Gosling was originally selected to the 2013 team but was unable to play due to injury.

Between the pipes, Nicole Kesteris from the University of Toronto will team up with Rousseau-Sirois.

"This year's team represents a great mix of skill, speed, character and hockey IQ," said Rempel. "We are looking forward to representing the CIS and our country at this prestigious event."

The team will depart Canada in late January to begin preparations for the Universiade. The opening ceremony is set for Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter/2015/index

Granada 2015 website: http://www.granada2015.org/en/

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Name University Elig. Hometown Academic Program

Goaltenders

Nicole Kesteris Toronto 5 Aurora, Ont. Human Geography

Élodie Rousseau-Sirois Montreal 4 Pohenegamook, Que. Architecture

Defence

Sarah Casorso UBC 5 Kelowna, B.C. Arts

Julia Flinton Saskatchewan 4 Williams Lake, B.C. Agriculture & Bioresources

Brittany Fouracres McGill 4 Calgary, Alta. Chemical Engineering

Katelyn Gosling Western 4 London, Ont. Social Science

Élizabeth Mantha Montreal 5 Longueuil, Que. Industrial Relations

Keirsten Visser UPEI 5 Crapaud, P.E.I. Science

Forwards

Ariane Barker Montreal 4 Napierville, Que. Communications

Laura Brooker Wilfrid Laurier 5 Fergus, Ont. English

Jessica Fickel Brock 5 Fort Erie, Ont. Kinesiology

Tess Houston Alberta 4 Winnipeg, Man. Nursing

Jessica Kampjes Alberta 3 Sturgeon County, Alta.Native Studies

Breanna Lanceleve Saint Mary's 2 Lower Sackville, N.S. Science

Maggie Litchfield-Medd Manitoba 5 Winnipeg, Man. Environment, Earth, & Resources

Jenny MacKnight Windsor 5 Regina, Sask. Environmental Studies

Morgan McHaffie Queen's -- Guelph, Ont. Physical & Health Education

Alex Normore StFX 5 Bedford, N.S. Human Kinetics

Daley Oddy StFX 2 Cranbrook, B.C. Human Kinetics

Bree Polci Windsor 5 London, Ont. History

NOTE: The year of CIS eligibility listed is for the 2014-15 season. Morgan McHaffie of Queen's used her fifth and final year of CIS eligibility in 2013-14.

Staff

Team Leader: Kelsie Graham Regina, Sask.

Head Coach: Jon Rempel University of Manitoba

Assistant Coach: Bruce Donaldson University of Prince Edward Island

Assistant Coach: Jim Hunter University of Windsor

Athletic Therapist: Nadine Smith Carleton University

Equipment Manager: Jean Huynh McGill University

CANADA'S ALL-TIME RESULTS IN WOMEN'S HOCKEY AT UNIVERSIADE

2013 (Trentino, Italy)

21-0 vs. Spain

5-0 vs. Russia

13-0 vs. Great Britain