Hannah Brandt, Gigi Marvin among Minnesotans on U.S. national hockey team roster

The individual meetings started at 6:30 a.m. Friday, with Hannah Brandt slotted as one of the last to hear her fate. The former Gophers hockey forward said she was "extremely nervous'' to find out whether she would get what she hoped for: one of 23 slots on the U.S. women's national team.

By midmorning, that anxiety had turned to elation. Brandt, of Vadnais Heights, was among eight players with Minnesota ties who were named to the team, taking a major step toward the 2018 Olympics. With Olympic rosters increased to 23 players, the group chosen Friday is likely to remain intact for next February's Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The roster includes one current and six former Gophers: forwards Brandt, Kelly Pannek (Plymouth), Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth) and Amanda Kessel, and defensemen Gigi Marvin (Warroad), Lee Stecklein (Roseville) and Megan Bozek. Pannek was a junior last season.

Goaltender Maddie Rooney (Andover), who plays for Minnesota Duluth, also was chosen. Two players who spent one season at the U — forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and defenseman Monique Lamoureux-Morando, twins from Grand Forks, N.D. — are on the roster as well.

The team was picked from a pool of 42 players who participated in a five-day selection camp in Tampa. Late Friday afternoon, Brandt still was feeling a little overwhelmed at being on the cusp of her first Olympics.

"I'm very, very excited,'' she said. "It's going to be fun with so many Minnesota girls. For us to be able to put on that USA jersey is really special.

"I'm super excited about the group we have. I think we can only get better.''

The team includes 21 players who helped the U.S. win its fourth consecutive world championship last month. A dozen are Olympic veterans, with six on course for their third Winter Games. Kessel, Stecklein, Marvin and Bozek all were part of the 2014 Olympic team, which was defeated by Canada in the gold medal game.

Cameranesi and forward Annie Pankowski are the only two players who were not on the world championships roster.

USA Hockey also announced the team will be based in Tampa. It will begin a residency there in September, with players living and training together until leaving for Pyeongchang. The U.S. will host the Four Nations Cup in November and play a series of games against its chief rival, Canada, before the Olympics.

Former Gophers goaltender Robb Stauber, who on Monday was named head coach of the women's Olympic team, said the group will not rest on its considerable laurels. The U.S. has beaten Canada in the gold medal game at the past four world championships, but Canada has won the past four Olympic golds.

Stauber coached the U.S. team at the world championships and wants to build on the free-skating style it displayed there. During the selection process, he and U.S. General Manager Reagan Carey put a premium on speed and creative playmaking.

"It's not easy to go through the selection process. I'm glad it's behind us. … What we're most excited about is what they're going to become.''

After Brandt was told she made the team, she called her family before the naming ceremony, a news conference and a team photo session. She will spend the summer training in the Twin Cities before heading to Tampa in September.

"There won't be any time to relax,'' she said. "We'll all be ready to go when we get to Florida.