MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State women's hockey defenseman Anna Wilgren made her U.S. Women's National Team debut Monday night vs. Team Canada at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., in preparation for the Olympic Winter Games.
In late September, USA Hockey announced the admittance of Wilgren to the residency roster for Team USA in preparation for the Olympic Winter Games. She made her national team debut in game two of the My Why Tour, presented by Toyota, which helps Team USA prepare for the Games, which are set for Feb. 4-20, 2022, in Beijing, China.
A native of Hudson, Wis., Wilgren suited up for 16 games last season and led Maverick defensive shooting with 40 shots from the blue line. The MSU captain finished the season fourth in the conference and eighth in NCAA shot-blocking with 38 blocks. An ironman that played in all 37 games as a sophomore for MSU during the 2019-20 campaign, Wilgren was named to the All-WCHA Third Team after she posted a 10-26--36 line with 96 blocks that ranked first in the WCHA and fourth in the NCAA. As a freshman the year prior, she was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team after recording 4-8--12 and 122 blocks that led the WCHA and placed her second in the nation. Wilgren leads active defenseman in career scoring with 11-30--41 and 256 blocks in 88 games over three seasons. She used last season to move from fourth to third on MSU's all-time defensive scoring list when she passed Anna Keys (39 points from 2014-18). She now sits nine points behind the leader, Emilia Andersson (50 points from 2008-13), for the most points scored by a Maverick defenseman in program history.
Wilgren is currently competing as a member of Team USA's residency program in hopes of becoming the Minnesota State women's hockey program's third Olympian and join the company of Nina Tikkinen (2007-11) and Emilia Andersson (2008-13). Tikkinen skated with the Finnish National team during the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics while Andersson was a member of the Swedish National Team during the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Games.
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