GRAND FORKS, N.D.— University of North Dakota women’s hockey head coach Brian Idalski announced today that Grand Forks natives Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux have agreed to scholarship offers to play for the Fighting Sioux starting in the 2010-11 season.

Idalski and the Lamoureux twins were given permission to pursue the option of playing for the Sioux after they requested and received their release from the University of Minnesota.

“I was surprised, but extremely happy when I heard that they wanted to come and play for our program,”  Idalski said. “Both of these kids are quality players that have had success their entire careers. What they will add to this team is their winning mentality and ‘swagger’ on and off the ice.”

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association requires all student-athletes transferring from within one conference school to another to sit out one year of competition.

Both Lamoureuxs are competing for spots on the U.S. Olympic team next season after recently helping the U.S. National Team to its second consecutive world championship, where they combined for two goals and five assists in their five games played.

If they make the U.S. team it would count as their year of ineligibility from competition and as their redshirt year, but would still have three years of eligibility left to play for the Sioux.

Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux played essential roles in helping UM to the NCAA Division I Frozen Four and the WCHA regular season championship with an overall 32-5-3 record.

A Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist, Monique Lamoureux led the Gophers in goals and points (39-36-75), while Jocelyne Lamoureux led the team in assists and was second in points (28-37-65). Jocelyne Lamoureux also led the team in both +/- at a +58 and in penalty minutes with 92, along with leading the team in faceoffs taken (won 461 of 816; .565%).

This will mark the first time the twins have played for a Grand Forks team since playing for the state runner-up Grand Forks Wheat Kings Bantam A boys’ team in 2003-04, before leaving to play for Shattuck-St. Mary’s where they won the U-19 national championship three out of four years.

– Go Sioux –