USA Hockey announced their roster for two Rivalry Series games against Canada in November and it features 11 current collegiate players, including Wisconsin’s Laila Edwards, who will make her senior national team debut. She is the first Black woman to represent USA on the senior national team.
While several Black women, including Edwards herself, have played on US U18 and U22 teams, none have ever been rostered for a senior team tournament or international game.
Edwards was named Most Valuable Player at the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship after tallying four goals and four assists in five games. In her rookie season at Wisconsin, she amassed 13 goals and 14 assists in 41 games. She scored one of Wisconsin’s three goals in the national semifinal.
Joining Edwards will be current Badger teammates Britta Curl, Lacey Eden, Caroline Harvey and Anna Wilgren.
Ohio State’s Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka, Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy, Penn State’s Tessa Janecke, Clarkson’s Haley Winn and Cornell’s Rory Guilday are the other current NCAA players on the roster.
The games are scheduled for Nov. 8 and 11, which is the week the Four Nations Tournament used to take place. Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin do not have games scheduled that weekend, but Clarkson and Cornell will have to play without Winn and Guilday while they join Team USA.
Overall, alumnae from 12 NCAA programs are represented on the roster – Boston College, Clarkson, Cornell, Harvard, Lindenwood, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Northeastern, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.
