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U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team Heads to Dmitrov, Russia, for 2018 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship

By USAHockey.com, 01/02/18, 8:45AM EST

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Team USA Enters Tournament as Three-Time Defending Gold Medalist; Opens Competition Jan. 6 vs. Sweden

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team heads to Dmitrov, Russia, this week to compete in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women's World Championship. The United States, which enters the tournament as the three-time defending champion, will compete in Group A alongside Canada, Sweden and host Russia.

The roster features seven players that helped the U.S. earn gold at last year's IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship in Zlin & Prerov, Czech Republic, including Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.), Lizi Norton (Orono, Minn.), Gracie Ostertag (Shakopee, Minn.), Dominique Petrie (Beverly Hills, Calif.), Lindsay Reed (New Vernon, N.J.), Ally Simpson (Frisco, Texas) and Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn.). Heise, Ostertag and Wethington also helped the 2016 U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team earn gold at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Joel Johnson (White Bear Lake, Minn.), associate head coach of the University of Minnesota women’s ice hockey team, is the head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team for the fourth consecutive year. Johnson helped guide Team USA to gold at the 2017 competition in Zlin & Prerov, Czech Republic, 2016 in St. Catharines, Ontario, and 2015 in Buffalo, New York.

All U.S. games at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship will be streamed live, with links to be provided on game days. See the full schedule below.

U.S. Schedule

Date Opponent Location Result U.S. Player of the Game
Sat., Jan. 6 Sweden
Preliminary Round
Ice Palace
Dmitrov, Russia
W (OT), 2-1 Makenna Webster
Sun., Jan. 7 Russia
Preliminary Round
Ice Palace
Dmitrov, Russia
W, 5-3 Britta Curl
Tues., Jan. 9 Canada
Preliminary Round
Ice Palace
Dmitrov, Russia
W, 6-2 Taylor Heise
Fri., Jan. 12 Canada
Semifinals
Ice Palace
Dmitrov, Russia
W (SO), 4-3 Casey O'Brien
Sat., Jan. 13 Sweden
Gold-Medal Game
Ice Palace
Dmitrov, Russia
W, 9-3 Dominique Petrie

Group A Opponents

Sweden

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. SWEDEN: 9-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L)

OF NOTE: Team USA holds a six-game shutout streak vs. Sweden

LAST MEETING: Jan. 8, 2017 - USA 4, SWE 0: Eight different players registered a point, and Lindsay Reed (New Vernon, N.J.) recorded a 23-save shutout to give Team USA a 4-0 victory over Sweden in last year's preliminary round.

Russia

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. RUSSIA: 9-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L)

OF NOTE: The two teams face off in the prelims for the seventh straight year.

LAST MEETING: Jan. 13, 2017 - USA 6, RUS 0: Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) netted a hat-trick and Taylor Wente (Plymouth, Minn.) had a goal and an assist to lead Team USA to a 6-0 victory over Russia in last year's semifinals.

Canada

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. CANADA: 5-3-3-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L)  

OF NOTE: The U.S. has won five of the last six matchups vs. Canada.

LAST MEETING: Jan. 14, 2017 - USA 3, CAN 1: In last year’s gold-medal game, the U.S. broke a 1-1 tie with 2:32 to play on a goal by Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) and went on to win its third consecutive gold medal with a 3-1 victory over Canada.

 

NOTES: Reagan Carey (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey’s director of women’s hockey, is the general manager of the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team … Joining Johnson as an associate coach is Maura Crowell (Mansfield, Mass.), head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth, while Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass.), associate head women's ice hockey coach at Boston College, is serving as an assistant coach … Team USA has played in the gold-medal game in all 10 of the previous IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships, capturing the event’s top prize six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017). The U.S. holds an all-time record of 41-4-3-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in 50 games at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship ... USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. teams that compete internationally.


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