PLYMOUTH, Mich. – The U.S. Women’s National Team has arrived in Plymouth, Michigan, set to defend its title as world champions here at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship.
Team USA will open its title defense against rival Canada tomorrow (March 31) at 7:30 p.m. ET at USA Hockey Arena. The U.S. has earned seven wins in 12 games versus Canada since the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and veteran defenseman Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.) is excited to reignite the rivalry again to open the tournament.
“It’s a great rivalry and both teams love competing against each other,” explained Bellamy, who enters the competition with 118 games played in a Team USA sweater. “It’s definitely going to be a great matchup to open the tournament and I think our fans will create a great atmosphere for us.”
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.
Date | Opponent | Round | Time (ET)/Result | U.S. Player of Game |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fri., March 31 | Canada | Preliminary | W, 2-0 | Nicole Hensley |
Sat., April 1 | Russia | Preliminary | W, 7-0 | Kendall Coyne |
Mon., April 3 | Finland | Preliminary | W, 5-3 | Hannah Brandt |
Thurs., April 6 | Germany | Semifinal | W, 11-0 | Kendall Coyne |
Fri., April 7 | Canada | Gold-Medal Game | W, 3-2 OT | Kacey Bellamy |