Russian Women’s Olympic Hockey Team To Train In Duluth In November

The 2014 Olympic games are getting closer and so comes the training and exhibition games. In an announcement from UMD Women's Hockey Head Coach Shannon Miller, Russia's mentor through an IIHF mentoring program, helped secure Duluth and AMSOIL as Russia's home base from Nov. 20-Dec. 2.

In and article posted by Sarah Wheeler on northlandsnewscenter.com "We are very honored to be hosting the Russian Women's Olympic Hockey Team at our home in Amsoil and in our community of Duluth," said Miller. "I will be working directly with their coaches to assist with their preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics being hosted in Sochi, Russia. This is a great opportunity to help Team Russia prepare and for our community to host an Olympic team."

According to Howie's Blog, Russia will train between 10 a.m. and noon at AMSOIL daily, and Miller will meet with the Russian coaching staff following those sessions. The Bulldogs will play two exhibition games against Russia (Nov. 26 and Dec. 2), along with games against both Bemidji State and North Dakota arranged by Miller to help Russia prepare for their Olympic endeavor.

The Russian team includes former Bulldogs Aleksandra Vafina and Iya Gavrilova and with their bronze medal ijnish at the 2013 IIHF World Championships in Ottawa, Canada, they have been getting noticed and upping their training against potential opponents.