Ice Hockey-2008 USA Hockey Women's National Festival Attendees Announced

U.S. Women's Under-18 Select Team Included in Festival

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey today announced 64 players selected to participate in the 2008 USA Hockey Women's National Festival, which will take place August 12-23 in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Festival participants will be divided into three teams (Red/Over-22, White/Under-18 and Blue/Under-22) for daily practices and games.

Team White is comprised of the players who will go on to represent the United States as part of the U.S. Women's Under-18 Select Team during a three-game series with Canada in Lake Placid (August 20-23). While the roster for Team White includes 20 skaters and three goalies, only two netminders will go on to compete in the Women's Under-18 Series.

The Under-18 squad is highlighted by seven members of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that captured the gold medal at the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship. Those players include defensemen Blake Bolden (Stow, Ohio) and Alev Kelter (Eagle River, Alaska); and forwards Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.), Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.), Meagan Mangene (Manorville, N.Y.) and Madison Packer (Birmingham, Mich.).

Included on Team Red are 16 of the 17 members of USA Hockey's new women's residency program for post-NCAA players in Blaine, Minn., set to begin in September. The red squad also includes three who are still playing NCAA Division I hockey - goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis./University of Wisconsin), defenseman Rachael Drazan (Orono, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota) and forward Maggie Kennedy (West Hartford, Conn./Dartmouth College). The squad boasts a pair of three-time Olympians in forward Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.) and defenseman Angela Ruggiero (Harper Woods, Mich.).

2008 USA Hockey Women's National Festival Schedule

Date	Event	Location	Time (EDT)
Tues., Aug. 12	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	7:30-8:15 p.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	8:30-9:15 p.m.
	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	9:30-10:15 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 13	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	3-4:15 p.m.
	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	4:30-5:45 p.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	6-7:15 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 14	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	9:15-10:30 a.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.
	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	1-2:15 p.m.
	Team Red vs. Team Blue	1980 Rink	7-9 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 15	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	8:45-10 a.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	10:15-11:30 a.m.
	Practice - Team Blue	USA Rink	10:15-11:30 a.m.
	Team Red. vs. Team White	1980 Rink	7-9 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 16	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	9-10:15 a.m.
	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	10:30-11:45 a.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	4-5:15 p.m.
	Team Blue vs. Team White	1980 Rink	7-9 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 17	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	9-10:15 a.m.
	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	10:30-11:30 a.m.
	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	1-2:30 p.m.
	Team Red vs. Team Blue	1980 Rink	7-9 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 18	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	9:15-10:30 a.m.
	Practice - Team Blue	1980 Rink	10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.
	Team Red vs. Team White	1980 Rink	4-5:45 p.m.
Tues., Aug. 19	Practice - Team White	1980 Rink	11 a.m.-12 p.m.
	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	1:30-2:45 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 21	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	10-11 a.m.
	Team Red vs. Boys' Team	1980 Rink	7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22	Practice - Team Red	1980 Rink	3:45-4:45 p.m.

Team USA 2008 Women's Under-18 Series Schedule
August 20-23 - Lake Placid, N.Y. - Olympic Center

Date	Event	Time (EDT)
Wed., Aug. 20	United States vs. Canada	7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22	United States vs. Canada	7 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 23	United States vs. Canada	10 a.m.

Team USA 2008 Women's Under-22 Series Schedule
August 20-23 - Pierrefonds, Que. - Pierrefonds Sportplexe

Date	Event	Time (EDT)
Wed., Aug. 20	United States vs. Canada	7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22	United States vs. Canada	7 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 23	United States vs. Canada	9:30 a.m.