Huge news for Anchorage forward Zoe Hickel today -- she was named to USA Hockey's squad for the 2010 Under-18 Women's World Championship.

Hickel, 17, who plays at the North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vt., as a high school junior, follows in the skates of Alev Kelter of Eagle River, who was on Team USA's gold-medal winning team at the tournament in both 2009 and 2008. Kelter captained last year's team and was named best defenseman of the tournament -- she's currently a freshman at Wisconsin.

Hickel owns 31-34--65 totals in 78 games for NAHA (which had five women selected to Team USA), and basically has her pick of colleges.

And here's the kicker that tells you a little about Hickel's fitness -- she cranked off 22 pull-ups in NAHA's fitness testing recently. Most of us would consider 22 pull-ups a good day at the gym -- after we'd been at the gym all day, that is.

Anyhow, congrats to Zoe.