skip navigation

U.S. Women’s National Team Earns Best of April Honors for Team USA Awards

By USA Hockey, 05/07/19, 12:00PM EDT

Share

U.S. claimed its fifth straight WWC gold in Espoo, Finland

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

Road to Gold

2019 U.S. Schedule

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

Support Women's Hockey

Shop USA Hockey


More Team USA News

Fourth episode of “Defending Their Ice” highlights evaluation camp for the World Championship

The U.S is hosting the tournament in Utica, N.Y. April 3-14

The third episode of “Defending Their Ice” highlights two college players from this year’s Rivalry Series

Team USA stands on the blue line for the National Anthem during the 2023-24 Rivalry Series

Fueling and Training For Success

By Dan Scifo 03/14/2024, 4:30pm EDT

The second episode of “Defending Their Ice” introduces viewers to the team’s dietician and strength and conditioning coach.

Tournament Starts April 3 in Utica, New York; U.S. Defending Gold Medalist