CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Thursday that Canada’s National Women’s Team will face the United States in Calgary and Toronto, Ont., as part of a six-game series that will help the team prepare for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

The North Americans rivals will meet Dec. 12 in Calgary at Hockey Canada’s home arena, the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park, and Dec. 30 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Tickets for the game in Calgary can be purchased as part of a package that includes a pass to the final day of the 2013 National Women’s Under-18 Championship on Nov. 10, including the bronze medal and gold medal games, and the final two games of the National Women’s Team Midget Series, against Strathmore on Jan. 17, and the Calgary Buffaloes on Jan. 19. To purchase the ticket package for $40, a $10 savings of single-game prices, CLICK HERE.

Tickets for the game in Toronto start at $19 (plus applicable fees) and are on sale beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Oct. 21. Fans can get a pre-sale code, and purchase tickets before they’re on sale to the general public, by clicking HERE.

Canada started the series with a 3-2 win over the Americans on Saturday night in Burlington, Vt., and play the first game on Canadian ice tonight at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Que.

In addition to Burlington, games held in the United States include Dec. 20 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., and Dec. 28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

The six-game series against the United States is part of a busy 2013-14 schedule for Canada’s National Women’s Team, which also includes more than 30 games against Alberta Midget Hockey League teams across the province and the 2013 4 Nations Cup, taking place Tuesday, Nov. 5 to Saturday, Nov. 9 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Single-game tickets to the National Women’s Team Midget Series at the Markin MacPhail Centre throughout the 2013-14 season cost $5 each, with free access for children under 12 years old who are wearing their hockey team’s jersey. Please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/tickets for more information. Check with your local AMHL team for prices in your area.

In total, the 27 players centralized with Canada’s National Women’s Team will play close to 50 games in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, which take place Feb. 8-20 in Sochi, Russia.

Canada’s National Women’s Team centralization roster includes three goaltenders, nine defencemen and 15 forwards, as well as 13 gold medallists from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. Twenty-two of the centralized players also claimed the silver medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship this past April in Ottawa, Ont.

MEDIA NOTE: Please contact Hockey Canada’s media relations manager Francis Dupont at [email protected]  or (587) 999-5681, or Hockey Canada’s communications coordinator Kristen Lipscombe at [email protected]  or (403) 826-4819, in advance for any interviews by phone at the rink.

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