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Whatever it Takes, Zoe Hickel Will Give Her All at Worlds

03/26/2015, 11:15am MDT
By Doug Williams - Special to USAHockey.com

Hickel recently wrapped up her college career at UMD

Zoe Hickel isn’t quite sure what role she’ll be playing for Team USA, but it doesn’t matter.

When she gets off the plane in Sweden this week to play in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship, she’ll be ready for anything.

“Who knows where they’ll use me but I’ll do my best,” said Hickel, a 5-foot-6 forward who just completed her senior season at the University of Minnesota Duluth. “Wherever they put me I hope to make the most out of it and contribute to the team.”

Hickel is thrilled to have been selected for the team that will try to defend its gold medal from the last World Championships in 2013. This year’s tournament will begin March 28, with the U.S. taking on Canada in a rematch of last year’s Olympic gold-medal game.

This is Hickel’s first time with the national team. Previously she played for the U.S. in the Under-18 Women’s World Championship in 2010 and was in the USA Hockey program in the U14s.

She earned the invitation after a good career at UMD and a strong performance in the national team’s winter camp in late December.

“Zoe’s an extremely hard worker and has a knack for finding the back of the net,” said Matt Kelly, head scout for the national team. “She came into winter camp and I think she led winter camp in goals. She was doing the same thing in college as well. She was putting the puck in the back of the net for Duluth.”

Hickel, a team captain, led the Bulldogs this season with 19 goals and 32 points. She tied for 15th in the nation in goals. Three of those goals were game-winners for a team that went 20-12-5.

It had been awhile since Hickel had been with the national program, so she relished the invitation to winter camp. After three years in the tough Westen Collegiate Hockey Association, she felt ready.

“The WCHA and playing for UMD has been a great place to develop, and I definitely commend my teammates and coaches for helping me improve and get here,” she said. “Once I actually got my chance at camp with some of those players, I felt I fit right in and was able to contribute right away. It was exciting and it was fun because I haven’t been able to play with some of those girls in a while.”

She says it brought out the best in her to play with the best players.

“That next level, you can play with freedom and your instincts start to kick in a little bit more,” she said. “There’s players that are just … when you’re at the right places at the right time, the puck’s on your stick and then it’s in the back of the net. It’s that next development. It’s so much fun to play, and I’m so excited to play at worlds. It’s going to be an amazing experience.”

Hickel, who grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, actually was on skis before she was on skates. Ski racing was her No. 1 sport, but then she picked up hockey. When she had to choose between the two at about age 12, she decided to go with hockey.

She’s developed into a solid power forward with good offensive skills. She prides herself on her “hockey sense and awareness” and knowing to be in the right place at the right time.

“I hope to be able to provide some offensive opportunities for the team and also be someone who’s consistent on defense and able to be a trusted player on both ends of the ice,” she said of her expectations in Sweden. “I just want to come in and compete and make plays.”

Hickel’s numbers improved every season at Minnesota Duluth. She had 12 points as a freshman in 2011-12, then had 22, 27 and then 32 her final season.

She says it’s bittersweet that her college experience is coming to an end, but she’s eager to keep improving as a hockey player.

“I just feel like it’s such a process,” she said. “So much of this is a process, and that’s kind of my mantra: process over outcome. Keep worrying about what I can do now and wherever they need me, I’ll try to do the best I can there. It’s all about winning a gold medal for the team, so whatever I can contribute, I will. But if I can learn and improve and gain something out of this experience, I think there’s no doubt I will, no matter what.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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WOODRIDGE, Ill. - Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) registered six points (2-4), while Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) and Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) each netted four goals, to lead the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to a 15-0 win over the Czech Republic here tonight at the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship in Walter Bush Rink. With the win, the U.S. won its group with a 3-0-0-0 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) and advanced to the semifinal round on Friday (April 2).

"We started fast and moved well both with and without the puck," said Katie King, Team USA's head coach. "I'm proud of the way we played and we're very excited for our next game in the semifinals."

The U.S. tallied five goals in the first period, including two from Carpenter. Coyne opened the game's scoring on the power play at 2:03 after her shot from the bottom of the left circle beat Czech goaltender Lenka Craigova on the short side. Thirty seconds later,Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.) doubled the U.S. lead with goal through the goaltender's legs. At 6:42, Brittany Ammerman (River Vale, N.J.) collected the puck along the right boards and cut toward the net before snapping a shot over the netminder's glove.

Carpenter scored the next two U.S. goals to close out the period's scoring. The first was on her own rebound at 8:21 and the second came at 15:28 when she used a deke to beat a pair of Czech defenders and put a low shot to the blocker side of new goaltender Veronika Hladikova.

Team USA scored six goals in the second period to take an 11-0 lead. Meghan Lorence (Mounds View, Minn.) scored her first goal of the tournament when she redirected a cross-ice pass at 1:49. With a slap shot from the left circle, Carpenter netted her third marker of the game at 8:16, and Skarupa tallied on the power play 59 seconds later. Team USA garnered its third power-play goal of the game when Carpenter snapped the puck off the left post and into the net at 15:58. Coyne scored the next two U.S. goals :24 apart to close out the frame's scoring.

In the final stanza, the U.S. potted four more goals to defeat the Czech Republic, 15-0. Taylor Wasylk (Port Huron, Mich.) scored on the power play after a give-and-go play at 4:39. Coyne tallied her fourth of the game 56 seconds later, and Marissa Gedman (Framingham, Mass.) netted a goal off a slap shot at 9:18. Skarupa finished off the scoring by sending a cross-ice pass to the back of the net at 11:24.

U.S. netminder Aubree Moore (Bowie, Md.) turned aside 16 shots for her first career U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team shutout.

Team USA will play the winner of the quarterfinal match-up between Sweden and Japan on Friday (April 2) at 7:30 p.m. CT.

NOTES: Haley Skarupa was named Team USA's player of the game ... The U.S. was 4-for-7 on the power play, while the Czech Republic was 0-for-3 ... Team USA has not allowed a power-play goal in the tournament (14-14) ... Kendall Coyne (9-0) and Skarupa (3-6) pace the U.S. with nine points each ...  All tournament games are available via live webstream at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com... Tournament photos are available at ImagesOnIce.net... The IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, which is being held for the first time on U.S. soil at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena, is being held for the third time ... The eight-nation tournament includes Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden and the United States ... The U.S. is the two-time defending world champion, after capturing gold in Füssen, Germany, in 2009, and in Calgary in 2008 ... Katie King, three-time Olympian and head women's hockey coach at Boston College, is Team USA's head coach, with Shelley Looney, two-time Olympian and girls'/women's hockey director for the New Jersey Colonials, and Catherine Hanson, former U.S. Women's National Team member who spent seven seasons as an assistant women's hockey coach at The Ohio State University, serving as assistant coaches ... For more information on the 2010 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, visit Chicago2010Hockey.com.


GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

CZE 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
USA 5 - 6 - 4 - 15

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Coyne (Mangene, Picard), 2:03 (pp); 2, USA, Fry (Bizzari, Gedman), 2:33; 3, USA, Ammerman (Hickel), 6:42; 4, USA, Carpenter (unassisted), 8:41; 5, USA, Carpenter (Skarupa), 15:38. Penalties: CZE, Vonkova (hooking), 1:55; USA, Bona (body checking), 4:54; CZE, Vytiskova (body checking), 6:06; CZE, Kuzelova (cross-checking), 8:56; USA, Fry (hooking), 11:45.

Second Period - Scoring: 6. USA, Lorence (Skarupa, Figueroa), 1:49; 7, USA, Carpenter (Lorence, Skarupa), 8:16; 8, USA, Skarupa (Pfalzer), 11:24 (pp); 9, USA, Carpenter (Picard, Mangene), 15:58 (pp); 10, USA, Coyne (unassisted), 16:05; 11, USA, Coyne (Wasylk, Pfalzer), 16:39. Penalties: CZE, Kubatova (cross-checking), 2:36; USA, Bona (hooking), 6:00; CZE, Solnickova (body checking), 10:25; CZE, Novakova (hooking), 15:44.

Third Period - Scoring: 12, USA, Wasylk (Pelkey), 4:29 (pp); 13, USA, Coyne (Mangene, Skarupa), 5:35; 14, USA, Gedman (Pfalzer, Ammerman), 9:18; 15, USA, Skarupa (Lorence), 11:24. Penalties: CZE, Eibinova (interference), 3:46.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total

CZE 7 6 3 16
USA 26 19 22 67
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
CZE, Craigova, 28:41 9-5 x-x 22-18 31-23
CZE, Hladikova, 31:19 17-16 19-13 x-x 36-29
USA, Moore, 60:00 7-7 6-6 3-3 16-16

Power Play: CZE 0-3; USA 4-7
Penalties: CZE 7-12; USA 3-6
Officials: Referee-Paivi Laurla (FIN); Linesmen-Therese Bjorkman (SWE), Helene Roy (CAN)

STOCKHOLM - Amanda Pelkey (Montpelier, Vt.) netted a hat trick in leading the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to an 11-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the opening game of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship here tonight at Stora Mossen Arena. Fourteen U.S. players factored in the scoring, with eight goal-scorers.

"Our team did a really good job of working hard and staying disciplined," said Jodi McKenna, head coach for Team USA. "We played well both offensively and defensively - it was a great start to the tournament."

Pelkey scored Team USA's first goal of the tournament at 6:12 of the opening frame when she skated in on the net from the end boards and slipped a backhanded shot past Czech netminder Veronika Hladikova. During a U.S. power play at 18:03, Paige Savage(Carrollton, Texas) found Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) on the doorstep and Carpenter one-timed a shot into the back of the net to double the U.S. advantage.

The U.S. extended its lead to 7-0 in the second period with five goals. Pelkey scored her second just :53 into the frame on a breakaway. Just over a minute later, Karley Sylvester(Warroad, Minn.) knocked one in during a scramble in front of the Czech net at 2:00.Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and Sydney Daniels (Southwick, Mass.) tallied :29 apart, at 7:18 and 7:47, and Abby Ness (Roseau, Minn.) closed out the period scoring at 12:11.

In the third stanza, Pelkey completed her hat trick at 1:34 to put the U.S. up 8-0. Brandt then scored on the power play at 6:24 when she knocked in Michelle Picard's (Taunton, Mass.) rebound. Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton, Mich.) added a tally at 12:04 and Emily Pfalzer (Getzville, N.Y.) closed out the scoring with a shot from the top of the slot on the power play at 19:13.

Megan Miller (Long Grove, Ill.) stopped all eight shots she faced for the shutout, while Hladikova made 64 saves in the losing effort.

The U.S. returns to action tomorrow against Japan at 10 a.m. EST.

NOTES: The U.S. outshot the Czech Republic by a 75-8 count ... The U.S. was 3-for-9 on the power play, while holding the Czechs scoreless on four man-advantage opportunities ... Six U.S. players had multi-point games, including Amanda Pelkey (3-1--4), Hannah Brandt (2-1--3), Alex Carpenter (1-1--2), Sydney Daniels (1-1--2), Abby Ness (1-1--2) and Emily Pfalzer (1-1--2) ...  The eight-nation tournament, being played for the fourth time, includes Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA captured gold in each of the first two years of the tournament (2008, 2009), followed by a silver medal in 2010 ... Jodi McKenna, the head women's ice hockey coach at Wesleyan Univeristy, is serving as head coach for Team USA. She is assisted by Brian Durocher, head women's ice hockey coach at Boston University, and Jennifer Kranz, assistant women's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University ...Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. Scores will be designated with #U18wwc ... Follow the U.S. Women's National Program blog here... Find USA Hockey on Facebook at Facebook.com/USAHockey and Twitter at Twitter.com/USAHockey.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 2 5 4 -- 11
CZE 0 0 0 -- 0

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Pelkey (unassisted), 6:12 (4x4); 2, USA, Carpenter (Savage), 18:03 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Pecinova (hooking), 2:33; USA, Marvin (slashing), 4:45; CZE, Jirsova (body checking), 5:07; USA, Sylvester (hooking), 12:00; CZE, Vytiskova (tripping), 14:35; CZE, Tejralova (holding), 16:51.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Pelkey (Field), :53; 4, USA, Sylvester (unassisted), 2:00; 5, USA, Brandt (Pelkey), 7:18; 6, USA, Daniels (Trivigno, Ness), 7:47; 7, USA, Ness (Daniels, Pfalzer), 12:11. Penalties: USA, Trivigno (hooking), 3:26; CZE, Krizova (hooking), 13:31; CZE, Novakova (hooking), 18:59.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, USA, Pelkey (Brandt), 1:34; 9, USA, Brandt (Picard), 6:24 (pp); 10, USA, Darkangelo (Marvin), 12:04; 11, USA, Pfalzer (Skarupa, Carpenter), 19:13 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Solnickova (hooking), 5:35; USA, Daniels (hooking), 13:02; CZE, Tejralova (holding), 16:09; CZE, Tejralova (body checking), 18:22.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 34 29 12 75
CZE 3 4 1 8
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Miller, 60:00 3-3 4-4 1-1 8-8
CZE, Hladikova, 60:00 34-32 29-24 12-8 75-64

Power Play: USA 3-9; CZE 0-4
Penalties: USA 4-8; CZE 9-18
Officials: Referee-Malin Axelsson (SWE); Linesmen-Magdalena Cerhitova (SVK), Haley Wieler (CAN)

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