The 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's World Championship takes place May 4-20 in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland and UMass Lowell will have three former players suiting up for the French national team:
Baptiste Amar (2001-03),
Laurent Meunier (2000-02) and
Yorick Treille (1998-02).
The trio helped the River Hawks reach back-to-back Hockey East semifinals from 2000-02 and the team was ranked as high as third in the country in 2002, then the highest ranking in school history.
France kicks off the 2012 IIHF World Championship by taking on USA Friday, May 4 in Helsinki, Finland. The game will be televised locally on the NBC Sports Network, live at 5:15 a.m.
Amar played in 63 games, scoring four goals and 19 assists for 23 points for his career. Amar has been playing professional in France and was an All-Star from 05-09. Amar won two consecutive Albert Hassler Trophies from 2007-2009, given to the French League's top player.
Meunier scored 58 points on 19 goals and 39 assists in 62 games during his two seasons for UMass Lowell. He was a member of the Hockey East All-Rookie team in 2001 and named the River Hawks' Unsung Hero in 2002.
Meunier is also France's active leader scoring in IIHF World Championship competition with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. He is just 10 points shy of the team record of 26 points (13g, 13a) held by Philippe Bozon (1992-2000).
Treille played four seasons for the River Hawks, appearing in 127 games with 36 goals and 47 assists for 83 points. He was a Chicago Blackhawks seventh round pick in 1999 and went on to play professionally in Europe.
All three have played for team France in six World Championships and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
After Friday's contest France will then play Kazakhstan on Sunday, Canada on Monday, and Finland on Thursday. Round robin play will continue with Switzerland on Saturday, May 12, Belarus on Monday, May 14 and finish with Slovakia on Tuesday, May 15. There are 16 teams, divided into two groups, for the Preliminary round.
