OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Friday the Canadian women's hockey roster for the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.
 
The Windsor Lancers are pleased to have two members of their women's hockey squad named to the Canadian team. Fifth year standout forwards Jenny MacKnight and Bree Polci will represent Canada and the University of Windsor in Spain next February at the FISU Winter Games.
 
The 27th World University Games will run from Feb. 4-14, with the women's hockey final set for Feb. 13.
 
MacKnight, a Saskatchewan native, captured the OUA scoring title and was second in the nation scoring in 2013-14 with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) while also being named a CIS All-Canadian. Polci, a London, Ontario native, also had an outstanding year in 2013-14 as she finished seventh in Canada in scoring with 31 points (12 goals, 20 assists). The dynamic duo will join Lancer head coach Jim Hunter, who was named an assistant coach of the FISU Canadian women's hockey team this past summer. 
 
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
Bree Polci                  Windsor               5          London, Ont.                History
Tess Houston               Alberta                 4          Winnipeg, Man.              Nursing
Jessica Kampjes           Alberta                3          Sturgeon Cty, 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
 
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
Head Coach:                Jon Rempel, University of Manitoba
Assistant Coach:         Jim Hunter, University of Windsor
Assistant Coach:          Bruce Donaldson, University of Prince Edward Island
Athletic Therapist:        Nadine Smith, Carleton University
Team Leader:               Kelsie Graham, Regina, Sask.
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
9-1 vs. USA
9-1 vs. Japan
15-0 vs. Japan (semifinal)
5-0 vs. Russia (final)
 
2011 (Erzurum, Turkey)
2-1 vs. Finland (SO)
3-0 vs. Slovakia
14-0 vs. Great Britain
9-0 vs. USA
11-0 vs. Turkey
8-1 vs. USA (semifinal)
4-1 vs. Finland (final)
 
2009 (Harbin, China)
11-0 vs. Great Britain
5-0 vs. Finland
6-3 vs. Slovakia
7-1 vs. China
4-1 vs. Japan
10-1 vs. Slovakia (semifinal)
3-1 vs. China (final)
 
 About the Winter Universiade
 
The Winter Universiade is a biennial international multi-sport event open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
 
The Granada Universiade will feature nine compulsory sports and one optional sport. Compulsory sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, curling, nordic skiing, short track speed skating, figure skating, synchronized skating, snowboarding. Optional sport: freestyle skiing.
 
NOTE: Biathlon and nordic skiing will take place in Strbske Pleso and Osrblie, Slovakia from January 24 to February 1, prior to the start of the Games in Granada.
 
Official website: www.granada2015.org
 
 About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
 
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
 
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