Emilia Andersson, who played as a freshman defenseman for Minnesota State Mankato in 2008-'09, has been named to Sweden’s 2010 Winter Olympic Women’s Hockey Team.
Never before has a Minnesota State Mankato athlete, current or former, competed in a Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The 2010 Winter Olympic games are slated for Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Andersson, who spent this year playing for Segeltorps IF in the Swedish Women’s League, totaled 4-14-18 in 34 games with the Mavericks last year.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Andersson has been playing internationally the past three seasons for her native country. A veteran of the last two Four Nations tournaments, she was a member of Sweden’s team that competed in the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship, where it finished in fourth place.
Sweden opens the tournament at the Vancouver Olympics with a game against Switzerland Feb. 13. Their other opponents in the preliminary round are Canada and Slovakia.
In their last Olympic appearance in 2006, the Swedes were the surprise team, beating the United States 3-2 in a semifinal shootout. It was the first and only time a European team made it to the final of an Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament or the World Women’s Championship, which is normally a North American affair. Sweden won the silver medal after a 4-1 loss to Canada in the gold medal game.
A pair of current members of the Minnesota State Mankato women’s team -- sophomore forward Emmi Leinonen and junior forward Nina Tikkinen -- are candidates for Finland’s women’s Olympic team. Former Maverick forward David Backes is a candidate to make the U.S. men’s Olympic roster.
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