Alex Carpenter (Cambridge, Mass.) and Team USA are set to open play on Feb. 3 vs. Finland. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
More than one-third of the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team headed to Beijing has New England connections.
Nine of the 23 players either hail from the area, attend college in the region, graduated from an area school, or played professionally here.
Expectations are high. The Americans struck gold four years ago in a memorable shootout victory over rival Canada.
The U.S. is set to open play on Feb. 3 vs. Finland. The U.S. and Canada are the overwhelming favorites to meet for the gold again. Here’s a look at the U.S. players, in alphabetical order, with local connections.
