PEZINOK, Slovakia – Maggie Nicholson (Minnetonka, Minn.) has been named captain of the 2020 U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team, it was announced tonight by USA Hockey. Nicholson will be assisted by alternate captains Lacey Eden (Annapolis, Md.) and Makenna Webster (St. Louis, Mo.).
"I’m happy for the three players who have earned the privilege of wearing a letter for our Under-18 team this year," said Maura Crowell (Mansfield, Mass./University of Minnesota Duluth), head coach of the 2020 U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team. "Each of them brings something special to our group and I’m incredibly confident in their collective ability to lead us to a gold medal in the World Championship.”
Team USA will begin play in the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship on Thursday (Dec. 26) in Bratislava, Slovakia, against Finland. Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m. local time and 10:30 a.m. ET. Fans can stream all Under-18 Women’s World Championship games on IIHF.com.
About Nicholson
One of 10 returnees from last year’s silver medal-winning U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team, Nicholson is eyeing her third consecutive medal after earning a gold medal at the 2018 tournament in Dmitrov, Russia. A Minnetonka, Minn., native, Nicholson served as co-captain of the 2019 Under-18 Women’s Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada. She is committed to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota next season.
About Eden
Returning to the squad after helping the 2019 Under-18 Women’s National Team to a silver medal, Eden will serve as an alternate captain for Team USA at this year's tournament. A native of Annapolis, Md., the forward most recently competed as a member of the 2019 U.S. Under-18 Women’s Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada. She is committed to skate at Princeton University for the 2020-21 season.
About Webster
Another three-time member of the Under-18 Women’s National Team, Webster helped the U.S. to a gold and silver medal at the 2018 and 2019 tournaments, respectively. The St. Louis, Mo., native most recently shared captain duties of the 2019 Under-18 Women’s Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada with Nicholson. Webster will continue her hockey career at the University of Wisconsin next season.
NOTES: The head coach of the 2020 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team is Maura Crowell … Crowell is joined by assistants Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.), Meredith Roth (Dubuque, Iowa) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.), and goaltending coach Alli Altman (Eagan, Minn.) … The IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship will be played for the 13th time in 2020 and includes teams from Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States … The U.S. has played in the gold-medal game in each of the first 12 years of the event and earned seven gold medals (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), more than any other nation. The U.S. has also taken home silver five times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019)
