Canada to debut three new players as Rivalry Series shifts to Ontario
CALGARY — Three players will make their debuts with the Canadian senior women’s hockey team when the fifth instalment of the Rivalry Series continues next month with two games in Ontario.
Hockey Canada has included forwards Jennifer Gardiner and Anne Cherkowski and defender Nicole Gosling on its roster for games against the United States on Dec. 14 in Kitchener and Dec. 16 in Sarnia.
Gardiner, from Surrey, B.C., has nine goals and 11 assists in 14 games this season as a graduate student with Ohio State. She was a top-10 finalist last season for the Patty Kazmaier award — given to the top NCAA women’s hockey player — after piling up 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) in 41 games.
Cherkowski, from Coldstream, B.C., has nine goals and eight assists in 18 games so far in her senior year with the NCAA’s Clarkson Golden Knights. She had 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 40 games with Clarkson as a junior.