McIntosh, Spooner Named to Canada’s National U-22 Team for MLP Cup – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Pair of junior assistant captains among 21 players traveling to Switzerland Jan. 4-8 for international tournament
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Laura McIntosh and Natalie Spooner, both junior forwards and assistant captains on the ninth-ranked Ohio State women’s hockey team, have been selected for Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team that will compete at the 2011 MLP Cup, taking place Jan. 4-8 in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Hockey Canada released the 21-player roster Thursday.
Canada’s roster includes 17 of the 22 members of the National Women’s Under-22 Team that swept the United States in a three-game series held in Toronto, Ont., in August and 11 returning members of the National Women’s Under-22 Team that won gold at the 2010 MLP Cup in Ravensburg, Germany.
Spooner was on both of those teams and also recently won gold with the Canadian National Women’s Team at the 2010 Four Nations Cup in November. The Scarborough, Ontario, native is a three-time member of the U-22 team, adding last year’s gold to the silver medal from the 2009 MLP Cup.
In 12 games this season, Spooner has scored 15 goals and tallied 21 points. She ranks first in the NCAA in power play goals (6), second in goals per game (1.75) and tied for 11th in points per game (1.75). Sitting at 95 points in 77 games, Spooner already ranks fourth in the Ohio State career records with 58 goals.
McIntosh, from Waterloo, Ontario, earned a spot on her first U-22 team after attending the selection camp during the summer. She previously represented her home country at the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship in January 2008.
Leading the team in points and assists throughout the season with 30 and 22, respectively, McIntosh tops the NCAA assists per game category with 1.38 and is fifth in points with 1.88. She led the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in assists last year and continues to this season, putting her in third in the Buckeye career assist category with 85. She is the most recent addition the OSU Century Club and has 114 points in 89 games.
In total, Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team consists of two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 12 forwards. Canada has won the MLP Cup seven times, including every year from 2003-08 and in 2010. Canada will join Germany and Switzerland in Group B for the preliminary round, while Sweden, Finland and Russia will play in Group A.
