USA Hockey to announce U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team roster Jan. 1

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - November 3, 2009- USA Hockey, in cooperation with NBC Sports and the National Hockey League, announced today that the 23-man roster for its 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will be unveiled during NBC's broadcast of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Jan. 1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Coverage of the game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers begins at 1 p.m. EST.

The U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will compete at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. The men's ice hockey competition begins on Feb. 16 and concludes with the gold-medal game on Feb. 28.

Team USA plays its first game Feb. 16 against Switzerland.

NOTES: The U.S. roster will include 20 skaters and three goaltenders. It is expected that all 23 players will come from the NHL ... Ron Wilson, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the head coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, with Scott Gordon, head coach of the New York Islanders, and John Tortorella, head coach of the New York Rangers, serving as assistant coaches ... The 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic marks the third consecutive year two NHL teams play a Jan. 1 outdoor game. In 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings faced off at Wrigley Field in Chicago, which was the most watched regular-season NHL game in 34 years, and in 2008, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Tags: Team USA, USA Hockey