International Break, etc.

The first international break for USA Hockey began this weekend, and North Dakota hockey connections abound. USA Hockey has put together a nice composite detailing all the action, and here are the specifics for the North Dakota contingent:

• Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux and the rest of the US Women's National Team will be taking part in the 2012 Women's Four Nations Cup November 5-10 in Kerava, Finland. The Four Nations field is comprised of the national teams from the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden, and in the 16 year history of the event only Canada (12) and the USA (4) have won gold. Team USA is the defending champion. North Dakota's Michelle Karvinen (Finland) and Johanna Fallman (Sweden) are also regular members of their respective national teams, but they have both been battling injuries this season and I do not believe they will be participating in the Four Nations.
• Also traveling abroad will be North Dakota recruit Chris Wilkie. Wilkie and the NTDP Under-17 team will be competing in the 2012 U-17 Four Nations Tournament in Monthey, Switzerland November 7-11. Team USA is the four-time defending champion, and the Americans are currently riding a 12 game winning streak at this event. The action gets underway Wednesday with a pre-tournament game against Switzerland, with their first tournament game coming Friday against Slovakia. 
• Keaton Thompson and the NTDP Under-18 team will be hosting the 2012 U-18 Four Nations Tournament November 6-10 in Ann Arbor, MI. Team USA is the four-time defending champion, having won 14 straight tournament games at the event. Their last loss came against Switzerland in 2007. The Americans begin play Tuesday against Finland, and all tournament games can be streamed via Fast Hockey (pay-per-view). 
• The 2012 World Junior A Challenge started up this weekend with a trio of exhibition games. The tournament officially starts tomorrow in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and runs through the gold medal game on Sunday, November 11. UND recruit Wade Murphy will be playing with Canada West while Luke Johnson is on the Team USA roster. Team USA will see its first action tomorrow against Canada East while Canada West opens its play Tuesday against the Czech Republic. Team USA placed third last season after winning the event three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010. All WJAC tournament games can be streamed free-of-charge at Fast Hockey. This tournament provides very high-quality action, so the free streaming should help scratch that mid-week hockey itch brought on by the NHL lockout.
• UND recruit Halli Krzyzaniak will serve as team captain for Manitoba at Canada's 2012 National Women's Under-18 Championship in Dawson Creek, BC. The tournament begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday, November 11.