Nine Badgers collect invites to USA Hockey National Festival

Photo by: Greg Anderson

Nine Badgers collect invites to USA Hockey National Festival

August 03, 2018 | Women's Hockey

Group of UW players looks to earn a spot on the U.S. under-22 squad

MADISON, Wis. – Nine Wisconsin women's hockey players have been invited to take part in the 2018 USA Hockey Women's National Festival USA Hockey announced Friday.

Forwards Britta Curl, Presley Norby, Abby Roque, Annie Pankowski and Sophia Shaver and defensemen Natalie Buchbinder, Mikaela Gardner, Maddie Rolfes and Mekenzie Steffen are among the 75 players invited to the camp.

The festival, which takes place Aug. 6-13 at the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York, is a training session that will also be used to select a 22-player roster for an Under-22 Select Team series against Canada that will be held from Aug. 16-19 in Calgary, Alberta.

The nine are among 11 Badgers who will be at national camps this month as junior Kristen Campbell and freshman Sophie Shirley are currently at the Hockey Canada National Development Selection Team Camp.

A regular with Team USA, UW co-captain Annie Pankowski is a two-time IIHF world champion and has represented the United States at the Four Nations Cup in 2014. This past season, Pankowski took a redshirt year to train with Team USA and was also part of the centralization process ahead of the 2014 Olympic Games. The 2015 USCHO.com National Rookie of the Year and two-time All-American has accumulated 155 points from 68 goals and 87 assists throughout her time at Wisconsin.

Wisconsin co-captain Sophia Shaver earned second-team All-WCHA honors as a junior thanks to her 24 points from 12 goals and 12 assists. The Wayzata, Minnesota, native also attended the U.S. Women's National Team Training Camp in 2014 and recorded a goal and two assists to help Team USA win gold at the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championships.

A second-team All-WCHA honoree, senior Mikaela Gardner has been a mainstay on the blue line for the Badgers throughout her career. Last season she collected six goals with 16 assists for a career-high 22 points on the season. She ranked first in the WCHA with a plus/minus rating of +35. During her prep career, Gardner won gold with the U.S. U-18 team at the IIHF World Championships.

Redshirt senior Maddie Rolfes, a 2017-18 All-WCHA third-team selection, ranked second on the team last season with 51 blocks. She tallied a career-high 21 points as a junior with five goals and 16 assists. Rolfes has experience skating internationally for the U.S. U-18 squad in 2012 and 2013 and collected four assists in her 10 games with the program.

Presley Norby put up a career-high 29 points last season for UW with 10 goals and 19 assists. Her plus/minus rating of +28 ranked third on the team. The Minnetonka, Minnesota, native suited up for Team USA at the 2015 Four Nations Cup and captained the 2015 USA under-18 team in a series with Canada. She also helped Team USA win the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championships with a goal and an assist.

Junior Abby Roque, the reigning WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, paced the Cardinal and White and WCHA last season with 41 points from 11 goals and 30 assists. Roque played with Team USA at the 2014 and 2015 IIHF U18 World Championships and attended the Women's National Festival once before in 2014.

Centerville, Minnesota, native Mekenzie Steffen led the Badgers during her sophomore season with 58 blocks, more than doubling her 23 blocks as a freshman. The defenseman also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 World Championships.

Defenseman Natalie Buchbinder played in all 38 years during her first season with the Badgers. She recorded one goal and five assists, while ranking fourth on the team with 38 blocks. Buchbinder won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2017 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships.

Incoming freshman Britta Curl is a four-time North Dakota state champion with the Bismarck Blizzard. During her senior season she scored a remarkable 54 points from 37 goals and 17 assists in only 18 games. Curl also suited up for the U.S. U-18 team at the 2018 IIHF Women's World Championships where she was named one of the Top Three U.S. Players of the Tournament.