Both teams are joined in Group A by Russia and Finland, the third and fourth-place finishers in last year’s world championship. Team USA will meet Russia in its second game on Saturday (April 1) at 3:30 p.m. ET before closing out preliminary-round play versus Finland on Monday (April 3) at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Despite having just one practice before facing off with three top-ranked teams in four days, head coach Robb Stauber (Medina, Minn.) believes this group will be more than prepared for what lies ahead.

“I’m very confident that this team is prepared both mentally and physically,” said Stauber, who is behind the bench as head coach for the first time at an IIHF event. “We have a slew of core veterans with great leadership abilities that will make sure we’re ready to play a full 60 minutes of good hockey. We’re just really excited to get out there Friday and get going.”

In addition to competing for a fourth straight world championship, this team looks to become the first U.S. team to win a world title on home ice. The U.S. has previously hosted the event in 2012 (Burlington), 2001 (Minneapolis) and 1994 (Lake Placid), having earned a silver medal in all three of those competitions.

“Losing the gold-medal game in overtime in Burlington was extremely emotional but also a great learning experience for us,” said Bellamy. “I feel like we’ve come a long way since then and we’re all extremely motivated to come out here and win a gold medal on home ice for our fans.”  

For full coverage of Team USA at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship, click here.

For event and ticket information, click here.