GRAND FORKS, N.D. --- The University of North Dakota women's hockey team may be done for the season, but not all of its student-athletes unlaced their skates for the summer quite yet. The program is closely watching with much intrigue over April as one former, four current and one announced recruit are playing for their respective countries in the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Women's Championship.
"It shows how far our program has come and is just a great opportunity for our kids to be able to represent their countries," head coach Brian Idalski said. "It will be fun four our staff and team to watch and see how they do."
Already done with action, incoming recruit Josefine Jakobsen was named the World Championship's Division II "Best Forward" selected by the directorate. She helped lead Denmark to a bronze medal in Caen, France, and was also named the team's best player as voted by coaches. Jakobsen was second in the tournament in scoring, tied for first in goals (6-1-7) and tied for fifth with a plus-five plus/minus.
An Aalborg, Denmark, native, Jakobsen scored an overtime goal to help clinch her second consecutive Swedish Elite League championship with the Segeltorps IF. Jakobsen has earned the league's scoring title, goal-scoring title and plus/minus title. She had 33 goals and 25 assists for 58 points in 27 games.
In Division I action, current Sioux goaltender Jorid Dagfinrud of Sarpsborg, Norway, and 2008-2010 defenseman Susanne Fellner of Fronhofer, Germany, began action yesterday with both of their respective teams earning opening-game wins in Ravensburg, Germany.
In two years, Fellner was a mainstay on the blue line for the Sioux playing in 64 games where she scored four goals and recorded seven assists for 11 points. She still ranks in the program's top-10 for career plus/minus (+3) and is tied for the program's record with a +5 plus/minus game against Bemidji State on Jan. 30. Fellner also represented Germany in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, with a fifth-place finish.
Just concluding her sophomore season, Dagfinrud ranks second in the Sioux record book in both career save percentage (.903) and goals against average (2.85). Named UND's Female Athlete of the Year for 2009-10, she has three career shutouts, including her first career start in a season-opening 2-0 win over Wisconsin on the night the Badgers hung their national championship banner.
In the IIHF World Championship Top Division held from April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland, the Sioux will have three current student-athletes competing in Michelle Karvinen of Rodovre, Denmark, and Jocelyne Lamoureux and Monique Lamoureux-Kolls of Grand Forks.
Karvinen redshirted with the Sioux this season and competed with Denmark men's teams where she was part of two championships in the Danish U-22 Development League (amateur men's) and the Danish U-20 Junior League (amateur men's).
The incoming forward is no stranger to international competition. Karvinen led Finland to a bronze medal in in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics where she tallied three points from one goal two assists scoring her goal in the bronze-medal game against Sweden (2/25/10). She was also the only European chosen for the All-Star team at the World Championships in 2009 and has two gold medals in the Finnish Championships with Espoo.
For more on the Lamoureux twins click here. To follow the Fighting Sioux players click here.
~GO SIOUX~
