2004 U.S. National Women's Team Roster And Coaching Staff Announced for 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship
Feb. 5, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey today named 20 players to the roster for the 2004 United States National Women's Team, which will compete at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship from March 30 to April 6, 2004 in Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The nine-nation tournament features the world's top female ice hockey players.
The announcement was made by U.S. National Women's Team Head Coach Ben Smith (Gloucester, Mass.), USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.), Vice President and International Council Chair Tony Rossi (Chicago, Ill.), Executive Director Doug Palazzari (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Senior Director, International Administration Art Berglund (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
The roster is highlighted by 11 Olympians, and 16 of the 20 players who were members of the 2003 U.S. Women's Select Team, which won a gold medal at the 2003 Four Nations Cup in Skövde, Sweden. Ten of the U.S. players are currently competing in NCAA Division I programs, and two are playing in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) in Canada.
"Based on performances at the Four Nations Cup and the Colorado Springs camp in December, I feel that we've been able to assess our player pool and put our best team on the ice for the upcoming World Championship," said Smith. "Because the tournament is being played in Canada it will make for exciting crowds and we will have a team worthy of that excitement."
Sharing the U.S. goaltending duties will be Four Nations Cup gold-medalist Pam Dreyer (Eagle River, Alaska) and Northeastern University star Chanda Gunn (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Gunn was scheduled to make the trip to Sweden as a member of the 2003 U.S. Women's Select Team, but was unable to participate due to injury. Gunn has compiled a nation-leading .960 save percentage in 15 games, and is second in the nation in goals-against average (1.22). Dreyer appeared in net for both games against Canada at the 2003 Four Nations Cup, where she posted a 2-0-0 record, one shutout, a .986 save percentage, and a 0.48 goals-against average. Dreyer made 71 saves in the two games, in addition to stopping all 11 shots in a sudden-death shootout against Canada in the gold-medal game.
U.S. defensemen include two-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero (Harper Woods, Mich.), and 2003 National Select Team Members Kim Insalaco (Rochester, N.Y.), Julianne Vasichek (Great Falls, Mont.) and Kerry Weiland (Palmer, Alaska), as well as first-time National Team members Kelli Halcisak (Grosse Ile, Mich.), and Molly Engstrom (Siren, Wis.). Engstrom is currently a junior at the University of Wisconsin, and ranks first on the team in scoring by a defenseman, having registered 14 points (4-10) in 22 games played. Insalaco is playing in the NWHL for the Oakville Ice, and has recorded 15 points (8-7) in 19 games. Typically a forward, she makes the switch to defense for the Women's World Championship. Insalaco was scheduled to make her first appearance on a U.S. Women's National Team at the 2003 IIHF World Championship, but the tournament was cancelled due to SARS virus concerns.
Two-time Olympian Ruggiero will be making her fifth appearance at a World Championship. In her previous four appearances she has recorded 16 points (4-12), and notched four assists in November's Four Nations Cup. Vasicheck will be making her first appearance in the World Championship, after completing her junior season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Vasichek participated in the Four Nations Cup in November and recorded two assists. Weiland was scheduled to compete at her first World Championship in 2003, and will be making her first on-ice appearance with the National Team in March. Weiland has competed at two Four Nations Cups as a member of the Women's Select Team, in 2002 and 2003. Kelli Halcisak from Providence College joins the National Team for the first time. Halcisak leads the Friars in scoring, and ranks third in the nation in points per game by a defenseman (1.19).
Forwards Julie Chu (Fairfield, Conn.), Natalie Darwitz (Edina, Minn.), Tricia Dunn (Derry, N.H.), Cammi Granato (Downers Grove, Ill.), Kathleen Kauth (Saratoga, Springs, N.Y.), Katie King (Salem, N.H.), Kristin King (Piqua, Ohio), Shelley Looney (Brownstown Twp., Minn.), Jenny Potter (Eagan, Minn.), Kelly Stephens (Seattle, Wash.) and Krissy Wendell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) reassemble following the gold medal at the 2003 Four Nations Cup.
Chu will be making her second appearance at a World Championship, after registering eight points (1-7) in five games in 2001. University of Minnesota teammates Darwitz and Wendell, will each be making their fourth appearance at a World Championship. Wendell and Darwitz are ranked first and second, respectively, on the Golden Gophers squad in scoring. Darwitz, who is currently recovering from an elbow injury, has recorded 41 points (15-26) in just 16 games, which ranks her fourth in the nation, while Wendell has 44 points (19-25) in 22 games, tying her for first in the nation. Wendell has recorded 31 (8-23) points in 15 games in her previous three World Championships, including a tournament-leading 13 points (2-11) in 2000.
Fellow Gopher Stephens will make her first appearance at a World Championship. She was a member of the Women's Select Team that participated in both the 2002 and 2003 Four Nations Cups. Stephens has recorded 38 points (11-27) in 22 games, ranking her third on the team and sixth in the nation in scoring.
Two-time Olympic teammates Granato and Looney will reconvene for their seventh World Championships together. Granato is the only player ever to have skated at all seven previous World Championships (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001), while Looney has skated in all but one (1990). Together the two have combined for 103 points (61-42) in the history of the tournament, with Granato contributing 70 points (46-24) in 35 games. Dunn and Katie King have each played in four World Championships and, along with Potter, earned gold and silver medals at the 1998 and 2002 Olympic Winter Games, respectively.
Kauth and Kristin King were members of the Women's Select Team that won the gold medal at the 2003 Four Nations Cup. Kauth skated with Team USA in the 2001-02 Visa Skate To Salt Lake Tour, where she recorded five points (2-3) in nine games. The Four Nations Cup was Kauth's first appearance for the U.S. since the Pre-Olympic Tour. King made her first appearance as a member of a U.S. National or Select Team in November.
Joining these 11 forwards will be 2002 Olympic silver-medalist Andrea Kilbourne (Saranac Lake, N.Y.). Kilbourne recorded two points (1-1) in five games in Salt Lake City and was a member of the 1999 and 2000 U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team that played a three-game series against Canada.
Joining head coach Ben Smith will be assistant coaches Alana Blahoski (St. Paul, Minn.), Tim Gerrish (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) and Mike Gilligan (Burlington, Vt.). Blahoski made her coaching debut at the 2003 Four Nations Cup. As a player, she earned a gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, and competed in three World Championships (1997, 1999 and 2000). Gerrish served as an assistant coach for the silver-medal winning U.S. Women's National Team at the World Championship in 2001 and the silver-medal winning 1996 Women's Select Team that competed at the Pacific Women's Hockey Championship. Most recently, he assisted Smith at the 2003 Four Nations Cup. Gilligan first joined USA Hockey's women's program coaching ranks at the 2003 Women's National Festival in August, and traveled with the Women's Select Team to the 2003 Four Nations Cup. Gilligan served as head coach of the men's ice hockey team at the University of Vermont for 19 years before retiring after the 2001-02 season.
In the seven-year history of the tournament, the U.S. and Canada have squared off in the gold-medal game each time, with the U.S. collecting seven silver medals. There have been three gold-medal games with one goal deciding the winner, including two U.S. overtime losses to Canada, 4-3 and 3-2, in 1997 and 2000, respectively.
2004 IIHF Women's World Championship
March 30 -- April 6, 2004 * Halifax & Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Team USA Schedule
| Date | Time | Matchup | Location |
| Tues., March 30 | 4:00 p.m. EST | Switzerland vs. USA | Halifax |
| Thurs., April 1 | 4:00 p.m. EST | USA vs. Russia | Halifax |
| Sat., April 3 | TBD | Qualification Round | TBD |
| Mon., April 5 | TBD | Qualification Round | TBD |
| Tues., April 6 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Bronze-Medal Game | Halifax |
| Tues., April 6 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Gold-Medal Game | Halifax |
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