MADISON, Wis. -- Three current Wisconsin women's hockey players will join five former Badgers at the 2019 USA Hockey Women's Winter Training Camp Dec. 9-13 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. 

Junior defenseman Natalie Buchbinder, sophomore forward Britta Curl and senior forward and alternate captain Abby Roque will join Badger greats Alex (Rigsby) Cavallini (UW goalie 2010-14), Brianna Decker (UW forward 2009-13) and Hilary Knight (UW forward 2007-12) as well as recent graduates Annie Pankowski (UW forward 2014-19) and Sophia Shaver (UW forward 2015-19) on Team USA.

The annual training camp serves as an opportunity to help the top 23 of 46 players prepare for upcoming international events, including the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championship.

Those selected to the U.S. Women's National Team will face Canada in the first two games of the 2019-20 Rivalry Series, including contests Dec. 14 in Hartford, Conn. and Dec. 17 in Moncton, New Brunswick. 

Hockey Canada also announced its roster for the Rivalry Series which will include five additional former Badgers: recent graduate Emily Clark (UW forward 2014-19), Ann-Renée Desbiens (UW goaltender 2013-17), Meaghan Mikkelson (UW defenseman 2003-07), Sarah Nurse (UW forward 2013-17) and Blayre Turnbull (UW forward 2011-15).

This will be the first meeting of the U.S. national team since Team USA and Team Canada participated in a week-long training camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex near Pittsburgh, Pa. Nov. 4-10 in place of the annual Four Nations Cup.