Team USA arrives, gearing up for a demanding yet thrilling women's hockey tournament

Team USA has arrived in town.

With an official roster set and an air of national pride, the best women’s hockey players in the country arrived at Turning Stone Resort Casino late Monday afternoon.

They will be staying at the Tower hotel along with the other nine teams competing in the International Ice Hockey Federation's Women's World Championship, which will take place at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica.

While some players drove in, others arrived by bus, all coming from Lake Placid where they recently played against Team Czechia and held the final round of tryouts to solidify the roster. The bus pulled up in front of the Tower at Turning Stone in the brilliant early spring sunshine, and players hopped off and began grabbing their luggage from underneath the vehicle.

Players were weary but excited, sporting Team USA sweats and carrying Team USA bags and water bottles. They chatted and joked with one another as they entered the hotel to check in and head up to their rooms.

“We’ve had a pretty intense week of tryouts, so making the team yesterday and then getting everyone here is super exciting,” said winger Britta Curl, #17.

This is Curl’s third year at the world championship. The University of Wisconsin student started skating at age 3 or 4; her father built an ice rink in their backyard every winter in her hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota.

Goalie Aerin Frankel, #31, plays for the newly formed Professional Women's Hockey League, and also started skating around the age of 4. This is her fourth time appearing at the world championship.

“It's an honor to represent our country, obviously, and to do it on home soil is just kind of an added bonus,” Frankel said. “I think for our group, it was really exciting. Having to do a week of tryouts, obviously, can be stressful, and there are a lot of emotions,  but it's really rewarding, obviously, at the end of the day when you get your name announced on the roster.”

Frankel is from Chappaqua, New York, so playing in the tournament in her home state is an even further bonus.

“We're all super excited to be here, not only on home soil and in the U.S., but also for me being in the state that I grew up playing hockey in,” Frankel said. “And there's so many youth hockey teams in New York state as well, so I think it's just awesome for them that we're playing so close. We’re hoping to get a lot of New Yorkers and a lot of Americans out to our games. And I know I'll have a big cheering squad with my family and some of our other local girls too, so it's really exciting to be here.”

Hockey excellence in Utica

USA Hockey senior director of communications Dave Fischer said that it’s been great fun to see the Subaru World Championship Village take shape, as well as all the red, white and blue signage and décor going up around town. He emphasized the quality of the athleticism that will be on display at the tournament.

“I always liken this to, essentially, it’s the Olympics in a non-Olympic year,” Fischer said. “I mean, these are the best players in the world that you have a chance to see right here.”

Frankel is no stranger to hitting the ice in Utica – she played at Utica University Nexus Center in December with her PWHL team.

“We had some great games in Utica,” Frankel said. “Getting to see a little of the city was awesome. And we’ve heard a lot of great things about the Utica fans, and that they really enjoy hockey, so I think it's great to bring hockey to somewhere that it's already so loved, and hopefully get some new women's hockey fans. I think with having the Comets, it's a really great spot for the tournament.”

Team USA communications manager Melissa Katz also said Utica, being a hockey town, is a great location for the tournament.

“It’s always awesome to play a world championship on home soil, and to come to Utica, a place that is so excited for this tournament, is just awesome,” Katz said.

American pride

Team USA is the defending gold-medal champion, having defeated Canada 6-3 last year in Brampton, Ontario. The two countries will meet for a sold-out rematch at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 8.

“Our main rivalry is obviously with Canada, and that's just such a fun and exciting game to play in all the time,” Frankel said. “But really, it's awesome to see how far women's hockey has come, because a lot of these other countries have such great teams and have really done a great job getting to where they are now.”

With the founding of the PWHL and more opportunities for girls to play youth hockey, like the Utica Jr. Comets’ girls teams, women’s hockey is experiencing rapid growth.

“I think women's hockey is having its well-deserved renaissance in kind of the whole ecosystem of women's sports, and it’s just really awesome to see the elevation of it,” Katz said.

As they gear up to defend their title, players like Curl and Frankel expressed a strong sense of patriotic pride.

“I think every opportunity that I've had to wear a USA jersey,  whether it's an exhibition game or a championship, it’s really an honor,” Curl said. “I’m trying to soak in every moment, because it means a lot.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Women's hockey: Team USA arrives in Utica for IIHF world tournament