LAKE PLACID, NY – Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team will begin its second season on Wednesday night when it steps onto the ice at the Lake Placid Olympic Center for the first of three games against the USA’s Women’s Under-18 Select Team. Games are also scheduled for Friday night and Saturday morning.

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team was chosen by head coach Stephanie White, along with Hockey Canada’s regional scouts, following an eight-day selection camp in Calgary from July 20-27. The team gathered at York University in Toronto last weekend for a three-day camp before departing for Lake Placid.

The series against the United States will be the first of two competitions for the National Women’s Under-18 Team during the 2008-09 season. The team will also travel to Füssen, Germany for the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship from January 5-10, 2009. Canada claimed the silver medal at the inaugural women’s U18 world championship in Calgary last January.

Canada’s team for the three-game series against the United States will not be the team for the world championship. Player evaluations will continue during the early months of the 2008-09 season, including the 2008 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, and a final roster for the world championship will be named in December.

The National Women’s Under-18 Team is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, which also includes the National Women’s Under-22 Team and the National Women’s Team.