WOODRIDGE, Ill. - Ten different players factored in the scoring as the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team advanced to the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship gold-medal game with a 5-0 win over Sweden here tonight in the semifinal round in Walter Bush Rink. With the win, Team USA improved to 4-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and will face Canada in the gold-medal game tomorrow (April 3) at 7 p.m. CT.

"We came out with real good jump and played hard for 60 minutes," said Katie King, head coach for Team USA. "We've put ourselves in the position we want to be in and we're excited to play for the gold medal."

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead with aBrittany Ammerman (River Vale, N.J.) marker at 1:22 of the opening frame. After receiving an Emily Pfalzer(Getzville, N.Y.) pass near the top of the right circle, Ammerman skated to the high slot and wristed the puck past Swedish netminder Sofia Carlstrom low to the far side for her fifth tally of the tournament. Gabie Figueroa(Branchburg, N.J.) also collected an assist on the play.

Rachael Bona (Coon Rapids, Minn.) extended Team USA's lead to 2-0 at 12:37. Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.) passed behind the net to Bona, who skated to the right of Carlstrom before sending the puck through the netminder's pads on the short side.

Team USA jumped out to a 3-0 advantage just 34 seconds into the middle frame. Amanda Pelkey (Montpelier, Vt.) fed Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), who came down the ice two-on-one with Taylor Wasylk (Port Huron, Mich.). After the pair exchanged passes, Coyne found Wasylk for a one-timer.

Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) netted her seventh goal of the tournament at 12:13 to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead. While on the power play, Carpenter received a pass from Pelkey, deked around a Swedish defender and fired the puck on the backhand over Carlstrom's shoulder.

At 4:29 of the final frame, Fry extended Team USA's lead to 5-0. Melissa Bizzari (Stowe, Vt.) skated down the ice along the right boards and sent a cross-ice pass to Fry, who directed the puck into the net to close out the game's scoring.

U.S. netminder Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.) turned aside all 11 shots faced for her second shutout of the tournament.

NOTES: Amanda Pelkey was named Team USA's player of the game ... The U.S. was 1-for-6 on the power play, while Sweden was 0-for-4 ... Team USA has not allowed a power-play goal all tournament (18-18) ... The U.S. registered its third straight shutout ... Team USA will face Canada in the gold-medal game of the IIHF World Women's U18 Championship for the third straight year ...  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

SWE 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
USA 2 - 2 - 1 - 5

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Ammerman (Pfalzer, Figueroa), 1:22; 2, USA, Bona (Fry), 12:37. Penalties: SWE, Lowenhielm (hooking), 2:48; SWE, Backlin (holding), 8:55; SWE, Hedengren (hooking), 12:43; USA, Hickel (holding), 15:51.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Wasylk (Coyne, Pelkey), :34; 4, USA, Carpenter (Pelkey, Pfalzer), 12:13 (pp). Penalties: SWE, Hedin (tripping), 5:12; SWE, Backlin (tripping), 10:49; SWE, Holmgren (body checking), 16:22.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Fry (Bizzari), 4:29. Penalties: USA, Pelkey (hooking), 1:02; USA, Team (too many players), 9:20; USA, Gedman (holding), 20:00.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total

SWE 0 2 9 11
USA 19 10 12 41
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
SWE, Carlstrom, 60:00 19-17 10-8 12-11 41-36
USA, Rigsby, 60:00 0-0 2-2 9-9 11-11

Power Play: SWE 0-4; USA 1-6

Penalties: SWE 6-12; USA 4-8
Officials: Referee-Melanie Bordeleau (CAN); Linesmen-Ilona Novotna (CZE), Johanna Tauriainen (FIN)