The United States Olympic Committee announced today that the U.S. Women's National Team has been named Team of the Month for the Team USA Awards Best of April honors, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month.
The U.S. Women’s National Team’s road to its fifth consecutive gold at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Espoo, Finland, was full of exciting moments.
The U.S. won their opening game against the host Finland, 6-2, before defeating Canada and Switzerland in their next two games. In its final preliminary round game, a 10-0 win over Russia, Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.) scored her first two career IIHF goals.
After defeating Japan in the quarterfinals and Russia in the semifinals, the U.S. was riding their second-longest shutout streak in Team USA WWC history heading into the finals. It was a combined effort between Maddie Rooney (Andover, Minn.) and Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.). The shutout streak was thwarted in the second period of the gold-medal game, but the United States would defeat Finland, 2-1, in a shootout to claim gold.
As a team, the U.S. finished the tournament at the top of the charts in scoring efficiency and in power-play efficiency, and will remain the top-ranked team in the world according to the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Ranking following its gold-medal victory in Espoo.
To relive every moment of the U.S.’s gold-medal journey, click here.
For behind the scenes content, click here.
All U.S. games were televised live on NHL Network
Games were held at Metro Areena
DATE | OPPONENT/ROUND | LOCATION | TIME (LOCAL/ET) | TELEVISION | U.S. Player of the Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thu., April 4 | Finland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 6-2 | NHL Network | Kendall Coyne Schofield |
Sat., April 6 | Canada Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 3-2 | NHL Network | Dani Cameranesi |
Sun., April 7 | Switzerland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Megan Keller |
Tue., April 9 | Russia Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 10-0 | NHL Network | Lee Stecklein |
Thu., April 11 | Japan Quarterfinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 4-0 | NHL Network | Maddie Rooney |
Sat., April 13 | Russia Semifinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Hilary Knight |
Sun., April 14 | Finland Gold-Medal Game |
Espoo, Finland | W, 2-1 (SO) | NHL Network | Annie Pankowski |