Ontario Tech's Emily Davis-Tope (Bendigo, Australia) has been named to the Australian national team for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) World Championships.
 
The Division II B championship runs May 17-22 in Zagreb, Croatia. The winner will be promoted to Division II A. Australia won the division in 2020, but due to the pandemic, never ended up being promoted. Davis-Tope said that is the goal again this year.
 
"Due to the pandemic the team didn't get promoted, but our goal is to win again this year," she said. "Once we all meet for training camp, we will also make smaller goals for the tournament."
 
This won't be the first time that she suits up for her country, having played since 2014 in various U-18 and national women's team events. This opportunity in Croatia will be her seventh world championship, helping her also compete around the world in countries such as Spain, Austria, Poland and Korea.
 
"It means so much to me. It is always an amazing opportunity to represent my country playing a sport I love."
 
Davis-Tope has played for the Ridgebacks since 2019-20, training with the program during the pandemic during the cancelled 2020-21 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) season. She credits her time playing university hockey for continuing to improve her game and have the ability to play internationally again.
 
"Playing in the OUA for the past few years has really elevated my game as it is one of the highest-level leagues for women's hockey in Canada," she said. "I have been defence and forward while playing for the Ridgebacks, which has add more versatility to my game." 
 
Australia opens the tournament on May 17 against Turkey, followed by their matchup against the host Croatians on May 19. They round out play on May 20 and 22 against South Africa and Iceland.