WINNIPEG, MB. – Manitoba Bison Female Hockey player, Venla Hovi, will be playing at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.

Venla will represent Finland for her third consecutive Olympic women’s hockey team appearance.

Hovi, 30, represented her native Finland in the 2010 Olympics, when they won the bronze medal in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She has been part of the Finnish women’s hockey program since 2006-07 and has played in numerous tournaments over the last decade as her international totals with Team Finland, heading into the 2018 Olympics, are 180 games played with 67 points (25 goals and 42 assists).

Hovi, a Tampere, Finland native continues to make an impact throughout her three year career with the Bisons. She earned her first conference selection as 2016-17 Canada West Second Team All-Star. So far in her three years with the Bisons, Hovi has averaged almost a point a game with 50 points (21g, 29a) in 51 regular season games. In playoff games, she has added 17 points (8g, 9a) in 13 games.

“Venla has worked extremely hard over the last three years to realize her dream of playing in a third Olympics,” commented Bison women’s hockey head coach Jon Rempel. “The amount she has taken on and the sacrifices she has made are impressive and our players, staff and entire Bison program are very proud of her.”

David Marshal, Manitoba Post with files from the University of Manitoba

Photo – gobisons.ca