Six former Badgers to compete in Four Nations Cup
November 04, 2014 | Women's Hockey
Nov. 4, 2014
MADISON, Wis. – Three current and three former Wisconsin women's hockey players will don the colors of their home countries this week as they compete in the Four Nations Cup. Badgers will be on both sides of the border rivalry between the United States and Canada.
| 2014 Four Nations Cup | |
| Schedule | Tuesday, Nov. 4 through Saturday, Nov. 8 |
| Location | Interior Savings Centre | Kamloops, British Columbia |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets Now | Full-tournament ticket package – $99 |
| Video | FastHockey.com (US games only) |
| Official Sites | USA Hockey | Hockey Canada | Finland | Sweden |
| Social Media | @4NationsCup | @USAHockey | @HC_Women | #4NationsCup |
About the 2014 Four Nations Cup
The annual Four Nations Cup is scheduled for this Tuesday through Saturday at Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia. The tournament has been held in varying forms since 1996 (previously the Three Nations Cup) and features Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
The Four Nations Cup marks the first major international women’s hockey event following the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Finland and the United States will play the tournament’s first game Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT, followed by Canada and Sweden at 9 p.m. CT. Preliminary games run through Friday, followed by the gold and bronze medal games on Saturday.
U.S. Women's National Team
Wisconsin will send current Badger, Annie Pankowski, to join former Badgers Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker on the United States' Four Nations squad. This will be the second time Pankowski has played in the tournament, as she played in the tournament last year as a member of the U.S. National Team before being cut prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics.Meanwhile, this will be Hilary Knight's eighth trip to the tournament, where she has led the U.S. team in scoring in three of her previous experiences. Her former Badgers teammate, Brianna Decker, will make her sixth appearance at the Four Nations Cup. In 2012, Decker finished second in the tournament in goals only to Knight.
Former Badger Alex Rigsby, winner of a program record 100 games during her time at Wisconsin, is one of three goaltenders on the U.S. roster.
Canada National Women's Team
Current Badgers Blayre Turnbull and Emily Clark will make their Four Nations Cup debuts for the Canadian National team. The talented Clark, who has put up nine points so far in her freshman campaign, is the youngest member of this year's team. Senior Blayre Turnbull will bring over three years of experience playing alongside some of the world's best players, including Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker, to the table.
Reviewing 2013 Four Nations Cup
The Canadian team, with former Badger Meaghan Mikkelson on the blue line, won gold a year ago, defeating the Finnish team 6-3 in the gold medal game in Lake Placid, N.Y. The United States would win the bronze medal game, topping Sweeden, 8-1.
Annie Pankowski had yet to enroll at Wisconsin at that point, yet she joined Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, and Jessie Vetter to round out the quintet of past and future Badgers representing the United States.
Hilary Knight (3-2-5) and Brianna Decker (1-4-5) tied for third in the tournament and on Team USA in total points, while Pankowski notched an assist in limited playing time over the four games. Jessie Vetter played in three games and started twice for the team, recording 47 saves in 119:19 minutes of action. Meghan Duggan tallied a goal and an assist, with both coming on the powerplay from the former Badgers forward. Mikkelson participated in one game and did not record any stats.
2014 Four Nations Cup Schedule
The Four Nations Cup runs Tuesday through Saturday with three days of preliminary games to determine the gold and bronze medal game matchups on Saturday.
Tuesday, Nov. 4:
Preliminary: Finland vs. United States, 3 p.m. CT
Preliminary: Canada vs. Sweden, 9 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Nov. 5:
Preliminary: Sweden vs. Finland, 4 p.m. CT
Preliminary: United States vs. Canada, 9 p.m. CT
Friday, Nov. 7:
Preliminary: United States vs. Sweden, 3 p.m. CT
Preliminary: Canada vs. Finland, 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, Nov. 8:
Bronze: 4th place vs. 3rd place, 4 p.m. CT
Gold: 2nd place vs. 1st place, 9 p.m. CT
