CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Thursday the eight provincial and regional rosters for the 2011 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, which will take place Nov. 2-6 at the Centre Georges-Vézina in Saguenay, Que.

The National Women’s Under-18 Championship is an important event for Hockey Canada scouts, who will use the tournament to help select Canada’s team for the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s U18 World Championship, Dec. 31 to Jan. 7 in Zlin and Prerov, Czech Republic. The rosters for the national championship include 21 of the 22 players who were part of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team for its three-game series against the United States in Rockland, Ont., in August.

The teams have been split into two groups, with each team to play three preliminary round games. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, with the gold medal game set to air on TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcaster, on Sunday, Nov. 6. All games, excluding the gold medal game, can be seen live via webcast through hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Full-tournament, 16-game ticket packages are now available for just $30. Packages include all 12 preliminary round games, both semifinals, the bronze medal game and gold medal game. For more information on tickets, CLICK HERE.

Of the 23 players named last week to Canada’s National Women’s Team for the 2011 4 Nations Cup, 19 are alumnae of the National Women’s Under-18 Championship, including 2010 Olympic gold medallists Meghan Agosta, Gillian Apps, Haley Irwin, Rebecca Johnston and Marie-Philip Poulin.