Beth Scott and Rebecca Lily were selected for the Ice Fernz squad that is competing in the IIHF World Women’s Division 2, Group B championship in Istanbul next week.
The pair often train together and will be representing their country together for the first time.
Scott said preparation for the championship had been quite hectic.
"I think it’s going to be a challenge but I think we will step up to it," she said.
She and team members had taken part in regional based training camps to prepare.
Camps were a combination of on-ice and off-ice training.
She also spent time training with members of the Gore Grizzlies club, she said.
She had previously played for the New Zealand U18 team from 2019-2020.
The first game would be against North Korea, she said.
"I think it’s going to be great. It’s the first game of the tournament so I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a very interesting country to play against."
She expected the games to be tough but welcomed the challenge, she said.
"Everyone has a generic play style, but I can guarantee that each one will be slightly different in their approaches and how creative they are."
The 22-year-old Dunedin Thunder player had played ice hockey since she was 13.
"Since I was young it’s always been a goal I’ve been working towards, and it’s really exciting that is able to happen now."
She studied for a bachelor of science degree, majoring in ecology, at the University of Otago and graduated in 2022.
Lily will be attending the championship for the eighth time.
"I think it will be good tournament for us — more rookies than we’ve had in a while, and we also have a got a few girls who have come up from the U18 programme and this will be their first trip," she said.
This would be Lily’s first time travelling to a championship from New Zealand, as previously she had been based overseas, she said.
The 25-year-old said her preparation for the championship had been good to this stage.
"Lots of gym work, lots of off-ice work."
However, the mental health facet of preparation had been the most important, she said.
"Especially going into a world championship. It’s very different from a typical tournament.
"It’s a lot of work with sports psychologists and making sure that if something goes wrong or the game’s not going your way, you can stay in a positive mindset instead of going into a negative mindset."
The team would train together when they arrived, and had a warm-up game against South Africa before the championship started.
Lily said had played with Scott the most out of anyone in the team, but was familiar with everyone on the squad because she had played with or against them when in New Zealand , she said.
"Playing against a lot of the girls you very quickly learn how they play."
Scott and Lily left for Turkey from Auckland yesterday, and will arrive in Istanbul today.
The tournament begins on April 1 and finishes on April 7.
