Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Skidmore College ice hockey freshman Vlad Gavrik has been selected to represent his home country of Ukraine in the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) U20 World Championship in Belarus from Dec. 13-19.

Ukraine is competing in the IIHF U20 Division 1 – Group A with Belarus, Japan, Great Britain, Italy and Latvia.

Gavrik, who is from Kharkiv, has played in all seven games for the 3-3-1 Thoroughbreds this season, recording three goals and three assists and currently leads the team with two game-winning goals.

“It's an honor to represent and play for your country,” Gavrik said. “I can't wait to start playing. I played for the team last year and it was fun.”

Gavrik is not the only player on the Skidmore roster to represent Ukraine. Thoroughbred senior Alex Mykolenko played as a member of the U18 and U20 national teams.

“It is terrific to be able to recruit two players who have played in the International Championships and it has really raised the profile of our program,” said Skidmore ice hockey coach Neil Sinclair. “It's great to have that international presence both on campus and in the locker room. I think it meshes really well with the educational theme here at Skidmore.”

Gavrik will play his final game of the semester for the Thoroughbreds at 7 p.m. Tuesday against SUNY Plattsburgh at the Saratoga City Rink before leaving on Wednesday for Belarus