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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The 2007 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival concluded last night at the Olympic Center with the announcement of the U.S. Women’s Under-22 Select Team that will host Canada for a three-game series from Aug. 23-26. Highlighting the 22-player U.S. roster are six members of the silver medal-winning 2007 U.S. Women’s National Team, including 2006 Olympian Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.).

Other members of the 2007 U.S. Women’s National Team that will play in the Under-22 Series are forwards Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.), Hilary Knight (Hanover, N.H.), Erika Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass.), Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) and Jinelle Zaugg (Eagle River, Wis.). In total, 10 members of last year’s Under-22 team return to the 2007 squad.

In addition to the Under-22 Series, which will be played in the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena at Lake Placid’s Olympic Center, the first-ever three-game Under-18 Series will take place simultaneously at the University of Ottawa in Ontario. The 2007 U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team, which participated in the Women’s National Festival as USA White, will face Canada on Aug. 23, 24 and 26 at the University of Ottawa Sports Complex.

The U.S. Women’s Under-22 Select Team is made up of members of the Red and Blue teams from the Women’s National Festival. During the eight-day Festival, the 67 participating players were split into three teams (Red, Blue and White) and a total of six intrasquad scrimmages were staged. USA Blue came out undefeated, with a perfect 4-0-0 record, while USA Red went 1-2-1 and USA White was 0-3-1. Meghan Fardelmann (Lansing, Kan.) led all scorers with five points (2-3), while Becky Zavisza (Suffield, Conn.) was the top goal-scorer with three tallies. Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) and Megan Van Beusekom (Loretto, Minn.) were the leading goaltenders, both with a 0.75 goals-against average.

Both the U.S. Women’s Under-22 and Under-18 Select Teams will open play versus Canada on Thursday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. EDT.

NOTES: Live in-game stats for the Under-22 Series will be featured on usahockey.com ... Full box scores from the 2007 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival can be found on usahockey.com ... Sarah Parsons is making her fourth appearance in the Under-22 Series (2003-04, 2006-07), while Rachael Drazan (Orono, Minn.) is competing for the third time (2004, 2006-07) ... Mark Johnson (Madison, Wis.), head women’s ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin, is serving as the head coach of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Under-22 Select Team. Paul Flanagan (Canton, N.Y.), head women’s ice hockey coach at St. Lawrence University, and Shannon Bryant (North Adams, Mass.), head women’s ice hockey coach at Williams College, are his assistants ... Katey Stone (Arlington, Mass.), head women’s ice hockey coach at Harvard University, is serving as the head coach of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team. Bob Deraney (Shrewsbury, Mass.), head women’s ice hockey coach at Providence College, and Erin Whitten Hamlen (Hampton, N.H.), associate women’s ice hockey coach at the University of New Hampshire, are her assistants.

Team USA 2007 Under-22 Series Schedule

Aug. 23-26, 2007 • Lake Placid, N.Y. • 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena

Date Opponent Time (EDT)

Thurs., Aug. 23 Canada 7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 24 Canada 7 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 26 Canada 10 a.m.

Team USA 2007 Under-18 Series Schedule

Aug. 23-26, 2007 • Ottawa, Ont. • University of Ottawa Sports Complex

Date Opponent Time (EDT)
Thurs., Aug. 23 Canada 7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 24 Canada 7 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 26 Canada 10 a.m.

Average size of U18 team -- 5' 6 1/2", 142 lbs.
Average size of U22 team -- 5' 7", 152 lbs.

I only mention it because there seemed to be a lot of very big girls on both teams. Does this mean something? Is the game changing for the better or worse? Are 'elite' players defined differently than they were 10 years ago? Bigger, stronger, less quick, not quite so fast, take up more room, cover less ground..... I haven't watched this level of hockey in person so I don't know. Maybe the average size of all players is growing because of weight training, etc., and the smaller, quicker players aren't so small anymore.

goldp wrote:Average size of U18 team -- 5' 6 1/2", 142 lbs.
Average size of U22 team -- 5' 7", 152 lbs.

I only mention it because there seemed to be a lot of very big girls on both teams. Does this mean something? Is the game changing for the better or worse? Are 'elite' players defined differently than they were 10 years ago? Bigger, stronger, less quick, not quite so fast, take up more room, cover less ground..... I haven't watched this level of hockey in person so I don't know. Maybe the average size of all players is growing because of weight training, etc., and the smaller, quicker players aren't so small anymore.

The 18s are 90s, 91s, and a 92. The 92 is rather small, and none of the players has stopped growing. The 22s are older, and their growth is about complete, so I don't think you can really make a comparison unless you wait three or four years and compare another 18 team, or you had data from the current 22s when they were 16 or 17.

I heard they did some timed skating with the 18's at camp. It may surprise some to hear where some of the players of greater height & weight were at as far as speed...

so slower or faster?

Neither - not a direct correlation between size and speed I assume. We often think small & quick or big & slow but just not always the case...

The bigger players are fast, athletic and strong. Definitely no slouches on either team. To get an idea of the speed on both clubs; Ali Thunstrom did not stand out with her speed. This is not a knock on Thunstrom; just gives you an idea of the overall team speed on both clubs.

xwildfan wrote:The bigger players are fast, athletic and strong. Definitely no slouches on either team. To get an idea of the speed on both clubs; Ali Thunstrom did not stand out with her speed. This is not a knock on Thunstrom; just gives you an idea of the overall team speed on both clubs.

Well, game speed is one thing, but quickness is another, and the 18s were a bit off from the older players, particularly the likes of Darwitz and Potter who can put the power to the ice. I'm sure most of you have seen the size of Potter's thighs, so no surprise there.

The on ice testing was for quickness in the straight line and Pro agility tests, and endurance in the 150 yard shuttle. In the latter the Olympians consistently stayed within a second of their time for the first rep, on the sixth. The best 18s were off by several seconds, with several finishing as much as six seconds off the time of the first rep. (e.g. a time of 27 seconds on the first rep, and a time of 28 on the sixth rep. Whereas the 18s came across in 28 on the first rep, and most in 30-32 second range, with some finishing with a time of 34-35 seconds on the sixth rep. )

This may be the most overlooked "skill" (ok - "ability") in hockey: Ability to read the rink/play. If you know where you need to be earlier than most, it can make even the "slowest" player seem quick as they always seem to get to where they need to be, make better choices at all times, etc. Only so much can be instructed re: anticipation, but I've found that coaches that teach vs. tell players how to play the game usually have the greatest success with their players being where they need to be (and getting to where they want to go to) at all times... gotta teach kids to think for themselves...

Speed, ability, talent, skill, strength, systems, etc. are great only if you know what to do with them (& when)...

Something that can't be overlooked is that girls, are plain and simply getting better at playing the game of hockey. There is a huge group of 15 year olds that are so aggressive, knowledgeable, and skilled they will bring the whole game of womens hockey to new levels. This is a group that has played varsity since they were in 7th and 8th grade, had the camps and specialized training available to them, and have had year round opportunitties to develop. Once this group matures they will stand out like none since the begining of womens hockey and hopefully this will lead to an unprecidented growth of the sport.......Just a hopeful prediction

The single biggest difference that I think has impacted the quality of ALL the players is a developed youth assn. experience that more often than not lasted through 8th grade with quality coaching and development long afforded to boys.

Coming to HS in 7th/8th is not always best nor ideal but may be the best in certain circumstances. Some kids can burn out if coming too soon and that more is due to if young kids don't have an experience tailored to their age/experience. Meaning - OK to come young to HS in certain circumstances but better have a program that understands & addresses the needs of such players both development & social...

ghshockeyfan wrote:This may be the most overlooked "skill" (ok - "ability") in hockey: Ability to read the rink/play. If you know where you need to be earlier than most, it can make even the "slowest" player seem quick as they always seem to get to where they need to be, make better choices at all times, etc. Only so much can be instructed re: anticipation, but I've found that coaches that teach vs. tell players how to play the game usually have the greatest success with their players being where they need to be (and getting to where they want to go to) at all times... gotta teach kids to think for themselves...

Speed, ability, talent, skill, strength, systems, etc. are great only if you know what to do with them (& when)...

The coach of one of the more successful high school programs in Massachusetts uses Small Area Games almost exclusively for his practices. He teaches everything using the SAGs, and only does "flow" drills or cone skating for warm-ups. He may not have the most talented kids, but they always seem to know where to be and when to be there by reading and anticipating, and their games look like a series of SAGs going up and down the ice.

Hux wrote:

ghshockeyfan wrote:This may be the most overlooked "skill" (ok - "ability") in hockey: Ability to read the rink/play. If you know where you need to be earlier than most, it can make even the "slowest" player seem quick as they always seem to get to where they need to be, make better choices at all times, etc. Only so much can be instructed re: anticipation, but I've found that coaches that teach vs. tell players how to play the game usually have the greatest success with their players being where they need to be (and getting to where they want to go to) at all times... gotta teach kids to think for themselves...

Speed, ability, talent, skill, strength, systems, etc. are great only if you know what to do with them (& when)...

The coach of one of the more successful high school programs in Massachusetts uses Small Area Games almost exclusively for his practices. He teaches everything using the SAGs, and only does "flow" drills or cone skating for warm-ups. He may not have the most talented kids, but they always seem to know where to be and when to be there by reading and anticipating, and their games look like a series of SAGs going up and down the ice.

I've always joked with my coaches that one year all we'd do is SAG's, but we also were doing them before they became so hyped as now it seems everyone is on board with this! Not surprised that the Mass coach is successful. Kids that learn to think for themselves usually do better than those that don't think, or are constantly second-guessing/waiting for a coach to tell them what to so since they've never been explained the how/why. Young coaches make the mistake of not wanting to explain themselves sometimes I find and that actually is the key to coaching and especially girls who absorb this knowledge like sponges it seems (unlike guys who constantly think they know it all somehow at age 13)...

Sunday's U18 game vs Canada can be seen here
http://www.ssncanada.ca/home/index.php

I understatnd that the US teams (U18 and U22) went a combined 0-6 against Canada this weekend (?). Looks like we've still got quite a ways to go if we're ever going to catch up with our neighbors to the North.

I followed commnets on the college forums but never really saw any comments on specific players. Did anyone see the games and how did the Minnesota girls on the U18 stack up and play? I listened to audio but could not get the video stream to work off one of the Canadian sites.

Already posted on another thread