Lamoureux twins aim for Vancouver and hope it's together

Twins Monique, left, and Jocelyne Lamoureux started their college careers at Minnesota but have transferred to North Dakota. (Tom Dahlin, Getty Images )

Identical twins and U.S. women's national team forwards Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux complete a family lineage of American hockey that, not surprisingly, has Canadian roots. .

The talented twins, who played in Saturday's pre-Olympic USA vs. Canada exhibition at Magness Arena, were born and raised in Grand Forks, N.D., along with four hockey-playing older brothers, including Air Force standout Jacques Lamoureux. Their father, Pierre, a former University of North Dakota goalie, was born in Canada, so the siblings have dual citizenship.

But just like the twins' brothers - including former North Dakota goalie J.P. Lamoureux and current Fighting Sioux forward Mario Lamoureux -Monique and Jocelyne are all about the red, white and blue. They began playing for USA Hockey in 2005 at age 16 and attended the University of Minnesota last school year, finishing third and fourth in NCAA scoring as freshmen

"There is a rumor that Joce and I were talking to Canada when we were younger, but that's not true," Monique said after the Canadians' 4-2 victory. "I think the closest we ever came to talking to them was a scout talking to my dad. That was the extent of it. We've lived in the U.S. all our lives."

The twins, 20, transferred to North Dakota before this school year and are taking online courses while redshirting and training out of Blaine, Minn. Their focus is making the 21-member U.S. Olympic squad, which will be finalized after two cuts Wednesday. .

Monique and Jocelyne entered Saturday's game tied for fourth and 10th in team scoring, respectively. They appear to be in excellent position to become the first USA Hockey twins to play in the Olympics together. But what if one of them gets cut?

"That would be pretty (bad)," Monique said. "This is our dream. Is always been 'we' and not just 'I.' I've tried not to focus on that question."

Said Jocelyne: "Last year I went to Four Nation's (Cup) and she didn't. It was bittersweet for me. We train and do everything together. If one of us gets cut, it would be very tough."

Canada, which built a 3-0 lead before a crowd of 3,155, improved to 4-3 against the Americans in this 2009-10 pre-Olympic competition that began Sept. 3. The Canadians have won four of the past five meetings and improved to 52-35-1 since the national teams first met in 1990.

The series between the favorites to play in Vancouver's gold-medal game continues Tuesday in Calgary, Alberta; Dec. 30 in St. Paul, Minn.; and Jan. 1 in Ottawa.

"We still play them three more times before the Olympics, so it's better to lose to them now than in Vancouver," Monique said.

(Edit:Ruby)