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U18 Team Overcame Adversity to Win Gold

By Dan Scifo - Special to USAHockey.com, 01/17/17, 5:00PM EST

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Team USA Prevailed Over Canada After Preliminary Round Loss to Rival

The U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team would not be denied.

The Americans suffered an early-tournament loss to Canada, but rebounded to defeat their biggest rival in the gold medal game, 3-1, and capture their third consecutive IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship.

“We wanted it so bad, we did not want to lose again to Canada,” said U.S. captain Cayla Barnes. “That was our mindset going in and everyone was so excited and ready to go. We wanted to hear our national anthem at the end of the game and we did everything we could to make that happen.”

The U.S. did indeed hear its anthem at the end of the night, which proved to be equally emotional and joyous for the players.

“We should probably stick to hockey instead of singing because we were off-key quite a bit and it was a little rough,” Barnes said. “But it was a great moment to spend with teammates, coaches, staff and our family in the stands who got us to where we were.”

Barnes earned the Directorate Award for the best defenseman in the tournament. Barnes, goaltender Alex Gulstene and forward Natalie Heising were named Team USA’s top players of the tournament, while Grace Zumwinkle scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game.

“It’s something special to score the winning goal,” said Zumwinkle, an assistant captain on the team, who had a hat trick during a semifinal win against Russia. “It hasn’t been easy, but we worked extremely hard for this moment.”

The U.S. won its third consecutive gold medal and captured the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship for the sixth time in 10 years. Gulstene stopped 70 of 73 shots, including 27 in the gold medal game.

“I thought Alex was one of the best players in the tournament,” said head coach Joel Johnson. “She competes, she makes saves and keeps the puck out of the net.”

The Americans finished second in Group A, outscoring Russia and Sweden by a combined score of 10-1 before a 1-0 overtime loss against Canada. The U.S. advanced to the semifinals where it defeated Russia to earn the heavily-anticipated rematch against Canada in the gold-medal game.

“We knew [the gold medal game] was going to be different and that we had to approach things the right way,” Johnson said. “We focused on things we did well, and what made us successful, and I thought the kids did a great job responding.”

Factoring in both preliminary round and gold medal play, it was the 13th time the U.S. and Canada met at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship. The rivals have gone head-to-head in the gold medal game every year since the tournament’s inception in 2008.

On this occasion, Delaney Drake opened the scoring 5:56 into the second period on a Team USA power play from Clair DeGeorge. The game stayed that way until Canada, pressing for the equalizer, finally broke through in the third period when Daryl Watts scored on the power play with 6:17 to play.

The Americans weren’t rattled.

“After they tied the game, obviously Canada went ballistic and had a ton of energy, but we looked down the line and said we were fine,” Barnes said. “We knew we were fine even after they scored and we responded. It was great to see our team bounce back.”

Zumwinkle was the hero on the game-winning goal. She scored the clincher with 2:32 to play, converting a rebound from DeGeorge’s slap shot on a two-on-one.

“Grace is always a threat to shoot, but she moved the puck to Clair for the one-timer,” Johnson said. “The rebound was there for Grace and she finished it off.”

Zumwinkle always envisioned a moment like the game-winner in a gold medal game, and while it didn’t come exactly the way she drew it up, she was glad to provide the heroics.

“It was an awesome feeling and something I hoped would happen,” Zumwinkle said. “Luckily the puck just ended up on my stick in front of the net and I put the rebound in. I don’t think it could’ve come any easier.”

The final two minutes didn’t come easy with the U.S. forced to kill a penalty. But Emily Oden sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final five seconds. The only thing left was the gold medal celebration as the U.S. cleared the bench and threw their sticks and gloves into the air, mobbing Gulstene behind the net. The Americans later stood arm-and-arm and performed their rendition of the national anthem before gathering for a photo at center ice that will go down as a memory for the ages.

“I told the girls, every time you get a chance to throw your gloves in the air, it’s a special feeling,” Johnson said. “This group was a special one, the kids came together and got better as the tournament went on. I’m excited and really proud of our kids.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.



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