Princeton University Athletics
Van Beusekom '04 Named to U.S. Women's Hockey National Team
February 24, 2005 | Women's Ice Hockey
Feb. 24, 2005
Colorado Springs, Colo. - Princeton graduate Megan Van Beusekom was one of two goalies named to the roster of the U.S. Women's National Team on Wednesday. Van Beusekom will join current Tiger sophomore Liz Keady on the team that will represent the United States at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in Linköping and Norrköping, Sweden.
Van Beusekom will make her first Team USA tournament appearance after skating with the team at its holiday training camp in Walpole, Mass., in December. Van Beusekom also participated in the USA Hockey National Women's Festivals in 2003 and 2004.
"Megan is a player who we've had on our radar screen over last two or three seasons," said U.S. National Team Coach Ben Smith. "She got a chance last summer [at the National Women's Festival] that parlayed into an opportunity during the holiday camp. There, she showed that she was deserving of the opportunity to go to the World Championship." Van Beusekom ranks at or near the top of most goaltending statistics in Princeton's history. Her career save percentage of .921 is the school's best and her 2.24 career goals-against is second best. She had nine career shutouts and 43 career wins.
Van Beusekom and Keady will become the fourth and fifth Princetonians to compete in an IIHF sanctioned tournament. The group includes: Kathy Issel, a member of the 1992 World Championship team, Annamarie Holmes, a member of the 2001 World Championship team, and Andrea Kilbourne, who competed in the 2004 World Championships and was a member of the 2002 Olympic Team. Kilbourne, and a fifth Tiger, Gretchen Anderson, were named to the 2003 World Championship team, but the tournament, which was to be played in Beijing, was cancelled at the last minute due to the Sars outbreak.
The United States has won eight silver medals in IIHF Women's World Championship history and has competed in the gold medal game in every appearance. The 2005 event will be the final IIHF competition for the U.S. Women's National Team prior to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.
This year's IIHF Women's World Championship field includes Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Russia and the United States.
IIHF Women's World Championship Schedule
Sun., April 3 4: 00 p.m.USA-China Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
Tue., April 5 8:00 p.m. Germany-USA Cloetta Center, Linköping
Wed., April 6 8:00 p.m. USA-Finland Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
Fri., April 8 3:00 p.m. B3-A4 Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
4:00 p.m. A1-B2 (Semi-final) Cloetta Center, Linköping
7:00 p.m. A3-B4 Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
8:00 p.m. B1-A2 (Semi-final) Cloetta Center, Linköping
Sat., April 9 3:00 p.m. Loser 13-Loser 15 Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
7:00 p.m. Winner 13-Winner 15 Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping
4:00 p.m. Bronze Medal Game
Loser 14-Loser 15 Cloetta Center, Linköping
8:00 p.m. Gold Medal Game
Winner 14-Winner 16 Cloetta Center, Linköping
*All Times Local