Former Saint Named to U.S. Women's Team For Fourth Time

...From College Sports Notebook...Marc Maturo

It’s another showcase event for Josephine Pucci of Pearl River.
Pucci, a junior defender on the Harvard University women’s ice hockey team, was named for the fourth time to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the upcoming Four Nations Cup, scheduled Nov. 9-13 in Nykoping, Sweden.
Katey Stone, the Harvard head coach, will lead Team USA at the Four Nations event. The veteran coach helped the United States to a runner-up finish at the 2010 Four Nations Cup, and led the squad to titles at the 2011 IIHF World Championships and the 2011 Twelve Nations Tournament. Team USA will hold a training camp in Hamden, CT, Nov. 1-6 before heading to Nykoping for the tournament. Play begins for the U.S. on Nov. 9 at 9:30 a.m. (EST) against Sweden. The red, white and blue goes on to play Canada Nov. 10 and Finland Nov. 12 before participating in either the third-place game or the championship Nov. 13.

Harvard, which has enjoyed a solid preseason, according to Stone, opens its championship season on Oct. 28 at St. Lawrence University in Canton. The host Saints are already well under way, and will take a 3-1 mark into today’s game against New Hampshire at Appleton Arena.

The Crimson are bracing for a tough East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) schedule, but Stone knows she can count on a solid core, including the three national team members.

“Pucci, Dempsey, and Picard—they’re great examples of hard work and dedication,” Stone said in a taped interview. “We’re expecting everyone to step up. Our junior class is great, our sophomores are on board, and we have some tremendous freshmen. We’re going to play loose, go 100 miles per hour, and not be afraid to make a mistake.

“The ECAC is as strong as ever, and we have an extremely challenging schedule, which is what we want. You want to play the best to be the best. There are no days off from here on … we open at St. Lawrence and Clarkson (Oct. 29 in Potsdam), and it (schedule) just rolls from there. We will take every game like it will be the toughest.”