University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey seniors Sydney Brodt and Maddie Rooney were two of 23 players that have been selected to the U.S. Women's National Team that wll play Canada in the opening two contests of the 2019-20 Rivalry Series on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17.

Brodt, a North Oaks, Minn. native and Rooney, a product Andover, Minn. are no strangers to the U.S. National Team --  both were on the U.S. World Championship gold medal roster in April, as well the Four Nations roster in 2018.  Rooney is also a 2018 Olympic gold medalist after she backstopped the U.S. to arguably the greatest game in U.S. women's hockey history with 29 saves, and stopped Canada's last two shooters to help the U.S. win its first Olympic gold medal since 1998 in a 3-2 penalty shootout thriller.

The first game, part of the USA Champions Series is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., and will air live on NBC Sports Network.  Game two will be played Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, with NHL Network providing live television coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Former Bulldog All-American and two-time Olympian Jocelyne Larocque will suit up on defense for the Canadian National Team in the series.