Paradise native joining under-22 national squad for Meco Cup in Germany

It's a busy time of year for Sarah Davis, but she's certainly not complaining. The University of Minnesota sophomore hockey player is finishing up her general studies exams before heading back home to Paradise for Christmas.

It's going to be a brief visit because the 19-year-old centre will be off to Fussen, Germany early in the new year to compete for Canada at the under-22 Meco Cup tournament.

The five-foot-seven, 168-pound forward will join her teammates in Toronto either Dec. 26 or 27.

Davis, who found out she'd made the team last month, said, "it was pretty much a shock," when she got the good news.

While she says the upcoming international tourney will be a great opportunity to capture Hockey Canada's attention, it's all about the team and playing for your country.

"Every time you put on that Canadian jersey, you get chills," she said. "You get caught up in the moment."

She'd like to get a tryout with Canada's senior national team one day, "but it's a process and a long process and a difficult one.

"I'm just taking it one day at a time," she added. "My main focus is playing for the Gophers and getting a good education."

Davis spent two years at Warner School in Alberta before she garnered a four-year, full NCAA scholarship with the Golden Gophers.

She notched 52 goals to go along with 35 assists for 87 points in her final year at Warner where she said she learned more than just how to score goals.

"I spent Grade 11 and 12 at Warner and that really helped me out in terms of time management and preparing for the university work load," Davis explained. "It's just a matter of being smart with your time."

She's had personal success at every level she's played so far in her young career.

So far this season, she has four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 18 games with the Golden Gophers. She scoored 11 goals with 21 assists for 32 points in her rookie campaign.

Davis skated in the 2008 national under-18 championship in Ontario, and led winless Team Atlantic with a goal and two assists in the four games. She also appeared in a three-game series against the U.S. for the Canadian under-18 team the same year. A couple of years later, she scored three goals and picked up an assist in five games in helping Canada win the world women's under-18 hockey championship in Chicago.

While she's looking forward to skating for U-22 Canadian squad, her goal after the tourney in Germany is to win the NCAA Frozen Four championship in March.

She'll miss a couple of regular season NCAA games while in Germany and she's looking forward to taking another run at the national championship.

It's not out of the question because the Golden Gophers made the top eight last year before being upset by Boston College. This year, the team is ranked No. 2 in the country.

"That's something I don't ever want to feel again, for sure," she says about the loss to Boston, and you believe her.

jbrowne@thetelegram.com