For the last three years, Allen Raushel has donned cardinal and gold with pride every time he has taken the ice for Cyclone Hockey.

But that definition of “pride” has risen to a whole new level for Raushel. From now until Jan. 27, he will trade his beloved cardinal and gold for red, white and blue when he represents Team USA at the 2007 Winter World University Games in Torino, Italy.

“This is definitely the peak of my hockey career,” Raushel said. “Just getting your Team USA jersey, being able to see your name on the back of it . that’s about as good as it gets.”

Raushel, a junior from Cloquet, Minn., was one of six Cyclones invited to try out for the team, and has become the 11th Cyclone since 2001 to be chosen to play for Team USA. Sophomore Mike Murtaugh was selected as an alternate for the 2007 team, but did not make the trip to Torino.

“Being picked to play at this level is such an honor for me,” Raushel said. “When you think about it, the 1980 Olympic Hockey team was made entirely of college players, and to think that I’m competing on a similar stage at this point of my career is just unreal.”

Cyclone Hockey’s coach Al Murdoch will also travel to Torino, making this the fourth consecutive time he has been a part of the biannual event. Murdoch has been a pioneer for the United States at the Winter World University Games since 1999, when he was asked to be the head coach of the inaugural USA Winter World University Games hockey team.

In two years, he put together an all-star team from players in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and took the first USA hockey team, which included six Cyclones, to the 2001 Winter World University Games in Zakopane, Poland.

“The United States was very inexperienced in international collegiate competition,” Murdoch said. “We went over there as a sort of the sacrificial lamb in our first year and played against some tremendous teams, but it was a great experience for both myself and the players.”

The 2001 tournament was highlighted by the underdog American team upsetting a heavily favored Russian team 4-2, making Murdoch just the sixth U.S. coach to defeat the Russians in international hockey competition.

“That was one of the highlights of my life,” Murdoch said. “Especially to have my son on the team at the time, and for my family to be in the audience was an amazing feeling.”

Murdoch has since stepped down from the coaching ranks and serves the team as a general manager and scouting coordinator.

Raushel and Murdoch will miss six games while in Italy, including this weekend’s series against conference rival No. 1 Illinois, who will be in a similar position when they face the Cyclones next weekend.

University of Illinois coach Chad Cassel will be making his second straight trip as head coach of Team USA and is taking five Illinois players with him to Torino.

“It’s been a thrill,” Murdoch said, reflecting on his Winter World University Games coaching experience. “Now we’re getting to a point where I pass the torch to the younger guys like Chad Cassel, who will continue doing this great thing for American collegiate hockey.”

The Winter World University Games, which consists of 72 medal events, is second only to the Olympics as the world’s largest international competition. The hockey competition will provide an incredible challenge for Team USA.

The Americans will kick off their extremely tough schedule today against Canada, followed by games against Slovakia, Russia and Korea later this week. After completing pool play on Jan. 24, the team will compete in either a consolation game or the medal rounds, which are held from Jan 25 to 27.

“The competition we’ll be facing is no slouch,” Raushel said. “We’re going to be competing against the best of the best from countries that eat, sleep and breathe hockey, and I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to play against teams of that caliber.”