Sept. 4, 2009

BEMIDJI, Minn. - With the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver just around the corner, Bemidji State University women’s hockey goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova (So., Bratislava, Solvakia) has been training in her native country of Slovakia in preparation for the games.

The Slovakian women’s national ice hockey team is slated to face-off against the Russian women’s national ice hockey team this weekend in a three game series.  

“I think it is a great opportunity for us to play with such a strong team,” said Tomcikova. “The games against Russia will show us some of the things that we can improve.”

Tomcikova is set to play the first game on Friday, which starts at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. Central). The other games are on Saturday at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. Central) and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. Central).

Tomcikova is the second Olympian that the BSU women’s hockey team has had. Nina Ziegenhals, who played for the Beavers in 2003 to 2006, was BSU’s first women’s hockey Olympian, playing for the German women’s national team.

--bsu--