BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – A late third-period goal from Ella Huber (Northfield, Ill.) gave the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team a 1-0 victory over Russia in the second game of the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship today at Ice Rink Vlado Druzilla.
Team USA has tomorrow off before returning to action Sunday (Dec. 29) against Canada. Puck drop is scheduled for a 6:30 a.m. ET start and the game will be streamed live at IIHF.com.
"It was a tough game because Russia is really good," said head coach Maura Crowell (Mansfield, Mass.). "It was a very defensive game, but we had a great third period. We got better and better as the game went. It's a really big win for us and we're looking forward to playing Canada. It's hard to describe the rivalry between the U.S. and Canada, and at the U-18 level we've had unbelievable games over the years. I know our kids are going to be amped up for it."
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A back-and-forth first period included good scoring opportunities for both teams. U.S. netminder Amanda Thiele (Milford, Mich.), making her Team USA debut, held strong in the net, including pad saves on a pair of close-range shots in the waning minutes of the period. The opening 20 minutes ended scoreless.
The second period was similar and again included no scoring. A breakaway chance for Kiara Zanon (Fairport, N.Y.) at the 4:27 mark nearly turned the game in Team USA’s favor, but her shot was stymied by goaltender Yulia Volkova.
With just 5:28 remaining in the final frame, the U.S. finally broke through. With a delayed penalty being called on Russia, the U.S. pulled netminder Thiele and after controlling play for nearly a half-minute, Huber collected a cross-ice pass from Makenna Webster (St. Louis, Mo.) and fired the puck off a Russian defender past Volkova.
The U.S. held strong the rest of the way to earn its second victory in as many games in the 2020 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship.
Thiele posted a 20-save shutout in goal for the United States.
NOTES: Ella Huber was named the U.S. Player of the Game … Huber, Webster, and Audrey Wethington (Edina, Minn) each had three shots on goal … Team USA outshot Russia 25-20 … For more information about the tournament, click here.
2020 U.S. Tournament Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (Local/ET)/Result | Venue/Location | Stream/U.S. Player of the Game | Game Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurs., Dec. 26 | Finland Preliminary |
W, 4-1 | Ice Rink Vlado Dzurilla Bratislava, Slovakia |
Kiara Zanon | Stats |
| Fri., Dec. 27 | Russia Preliminary |
W, 1-0 | Ice Rink Vlado Dzurilla Bratislava, Slovakia |
Ella Huber | Stats |
| Sun., Dec. 29 | Canada Preliminary |
L, 1-2 | Ice Rink Vlado Dzurilla Bratislava, Slovakia |
Makenna Webster | Stats |
| Wed., Jan. 1 | Russia Semifinals |
W, 3-0 | Ice Rink Vlado Dzurilla Bratislava, Slovakia |
Lacey Eden | Stats |
| Thu., Jan. 2 | Canada Gold-Medal Game |
W, 2-1 (OT) | Ice Rink Vlado Dzurilla Bratislava, Slovakia |
Skylar Vetter | Stats |
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