CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team coaching staff announced Wednesday that Lauren Wildfang (Waterdown, Ont./Toronto, PWHL) has been named captain, while Karly Heffernan (Sherwood Park, Alta./Edge School for Athletes, JWHL), Hannah Miller (Vancouver, B.C./Okanagan Hockey Academy, JWHL) and Eve-Audrey Picard (Longueuil, Que./Quebec North, Midget AAA) have been named alternate captains, for this week’s three-game series against the United States.

The puck drops on the series against the United States’ Women’s National Under-18 Team at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 22, at the Herb Brooks Arena at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. The second game is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 23, while the third and final game takes place at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 25. All games are available for viewing online at usahockey.fasthockey.com for $7.99 per game.

The 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders who will represent Canada in the three-game series against the United States were chosen following Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camp, held Aug. 10-18 at the Canadian International Hockey Academy in Rockland, Ont.

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team has been assembled by Melody Davidson, general manager of Canada’s national women’s team programs, Hockey Canada’s team of scouts, along with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team head coach Laura Schuler (Scarborough, Ont./University of Minnesota Duluth, WCHA) and assistant coaches Jackie Friesen (Regina, Sask./University of Wisconsin, WCHA) and Cassandra Turner (Campbellford, Ont./Quinnipiac University, ECAC). 

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team features:

• four players who won the gold medal with Ontario Blue at the 2012 National Women’s Under-18 Championship in Dawson Creek, B.C. (Bach, Leslie, MacMillan and Noronha);
• two players who participated in the 2013 IIHF Women’s High Performance Camp in Sheffield, England, earlier this month (Hart and Potomak);
• two players who won the gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18-Team at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Heinola, Finland (Heffernan and Miller);
• one player who won the gold medal with LHFDQ Nord at the 2013 Esso Cup, Canada’s National Female Midget Championship, in Burnaby, B.C. (Picard)

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team by province:

• Ontario – nine (Bach, Leslie, MacMillan, Noronha, Pinkney, Sauvé, Tiley, Wildfang and Wilson-Bennett)
• British Columbia – five (Bellerive, Hart, Miller, Potomak and Spring)
• Quebec – four (Labelle, Lalancette, Picard and Stacey)
• Alberta – three (Fieseler, Healey and Heffernan)
• Manitoba – one (Krzyszczyk)

Following the series, Hockey Canada scouts, along with the team’s coaching staff, will continue to evaluate players with their provincial and club teams during the 2013-14 season, in preparation for selecting the Canadian team that will compete at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship next April.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Please contact Kristen Lipscombe, Hockey Canada’s communications coordinator, for any interview requests at (403) 826-4819 or [email protected].

Canada’s National Women’s Program Red-White Series also kicks off this week in Calgary, with the 27 players currently centralized with Canada’s National Women’s Team and 13 players chosen from Canada’s National Women’s Development Team selection camp forming two teams for a three-game series. Games are scheduled for 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. MT on Thursday, Aug. 22 and 10 a.m. MT on Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Markin MacPhail Centre, Hockey Canada’s home arena at Canada Olympic Park.

Please contact Kristen Lipscombe or Francis Dupont, Hockey Canada’s media relations manager, for interview requests on site or by phone at (587) 999-5681 or [email protected].                                

For more information on Canada’s National Women’s Program and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/nwt, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, and www.twitter.com/hc_women.