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Mission Accomplished for U.S. U18 Team

By Doug Williams - Special to USAHockey.com, 01/16/15, 4:15PM MST

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The U.S. lost to Canada in the U-18 championship game three years in a row before winning on Monday

When Jincy Dunne’s overtime goal rocketed into the Canadian net Monday night, the HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y., erupted.

The loud, mostly American crowd got even louder. And the U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team that had just beaten Canada 3-2 to win the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Under-18 Women’s World Championship, swarmed over the ice to Dunne.

But at the other end of the rink, U.S. goaltender Katie Burt celebrated in her own way.

“When Jincy went down and scored, I really had to give myself a reality check,” she said. “I kind of just took a minute and paused. I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re the best team in the world.’ That’s something that no one can ever take away from you.”

The U.S. victory was especially sweet because it ended years of frustration. The Americans had last beaten Canada in the U18 Women’s World Championship final in 2011. Since then, the Canadians have prevailed in three straight, topping the U.S. in the final in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

But this tournament was different.

New coach Joel Johnson and USA Hockey had put together a team they were convinced had the talent and drive to beat Canada and the rest of the world.

For months, Johnson had talked to the players about one date: Jan. 12, 2015. That was the scheduled date for the championship game of the tournament, and no other game mattered.

“National teams and select national teams are defined by the color of their medal,” Johnson said back in late November. “We certainly know that our goal is to win, and we’re not afraid to say that’s going to be what we’re aspiring to accomplish.”

Today, that mission is accomplished. All the work toward Jan. 12 is over. U.S. forward Melissa Samoskevich finds it almost hard to believe.

“Yeah, just coming up to the tournament, I know I had a countdown on my phone for how many days [to the championship game], dating back down from 80 days ago,” she said, just after the postgame celebrations. “It’s just kind of unbelievable that today is Jan. 12. Today’s the day that we’ve been working for.”

A Nice Start and Great Ending

The U.S. opened the tournament by beating Canada 2-1 in an overtime shootout, a victory that infused the players with confidence. The Americans then beat the Czechs 3-0, the Russians 7-1 and then the Czechs again in the tournament semifinals, 5-0, to set up a rematch with Canada.

The championship game got off to a rough start, however, with Canada taking a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game after a turnover.

“They kind of took it to us in the first 10, 15 minutes of the first period,” Burt said. “But we did a really good job of responding and not getting frustrated.”

Just before the end of the first period, Dunne tied it 1-1 after skating the length of the ice and getting a shot past Canadian goalkeeper Marlene Boissonnault.

Late in the second period, the U.S. went up 2-1 on Alyssa Gorecki’s goal off an assist from Alex Woken. But Canada came right back to tie the game 2-2 near the end of the period.

Then, early in the third period, Burt made a huge save on a shorthanded breakaway to keep the game tied.

“You know, I hadn’t had a shot in probably 10, 15 minutes and then that breakaway comes along and it could have changed the game,” Burt said. “Fortunately I came up with a big save that kind of got the momentum going for us. I don’t believe they got a shot on net for the rest of the game.”

The U.S. defense, in fact, was terrific, allowing just 18 shots on goal. Boissonnault, meanwhile, was peppered all night, facing 41 shots.

While Burt credited the players in front of her for their defense, her teammates lauded Burt.

“She’s unbelievable,” Samoskevich said. “To be honest, I’ve never felt so comfortable than with her in net.”

Said Dunne, a defenseman in her third U18 Women’s World Championship, and a team captain: “She’s amazing. We were so glad to have her back. She’s just our star back there. And it’s so easy to play confident defense when you know you have a goalie like her back there. And not just Katie. When Brit [Brittany Bugalski] is back there, too. We know with Brit … They’re stars back there and not going to let anything through.”

The U.S. almost won just before the end of regulation when, with seconds to go, Dunne fired a shot that just hit the knob of Boissonnault’s stick and bounced away.

That sent it to overtime.

But quickly, Dunne and Co. brought it to an end. On a 4-on-3 power play, Samoskevich brought the puck up the ice, got it to Abby Roque, who then found Rebecca Gilmore at the left point. She zipped a pass to Dunne at right point.

“I just kind of walked it in and took a shot,” Dunne said. “Saw a small corner and tried to put it there.”

The puck found its mark. Fifty-one seconds into overtime, the U.S. had a 3-2 victory.

“Oh my gosh, it was the most incredible feeling in the world,” Dunne said. “For me, three years … we finally won the gold. I didn’t really get a chance to celebrate because I got attacked by my teammates. That’s when I knew it went in. But just to be able to share that experience with my team like that, my family was in the crowd, it was so amazing.”

To Burt, the fact that Dunne scored the game winner was perfect.

“She hasn’t had a bad game in the two world championships I’ve played with her,” she said. “She’s just so consistent and calm and probably the best captain I’ve ever played for. I think she comes up at huge times with huge plays, whether on defense or she even provides the offense, two goals tonight.”

“She’s something else. She’s really a fantastic hockey player.”

Now, the U.S. U18 team is again golden. And to win it on home ice will be something the 22 members of the American roster will long remember. All game long, U.S. fans waved flags and chanted “USA!”

Samoskevich said the support and chants made for an almost surreal atmosphere. Burt said it was almost mesmerizing. Said Dunne: “We were able to feed off that, keep our energy going.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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