The U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team was honored tonight (Oct. 18) with the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award at the 38th Annual Salute to Women in Sports hosted by the Women’s Sports Foundation in New York City.
The award is presented annually to a female athlete or team which exhibits extraordinary courage in athletic performance, demonstrates the ability to overcome adversity, makes significant contributions to sports and serves as an inspiration and role model to those who face challenges, overcomes them and strives for success at all levels.
Last April, Team USA claimed its fourth consecutive International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship and seventh in eight tries in Plymouth, Michigan. The U.S. earned five victories in five games en route to the gold, including a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over rival Canada in the gold-medal game. It marked the first time a U.S. Women’s National Team has won a world championship on home ice.
The 2017-18 U.S. Women’s National Team is currently training together at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Florida, a suburb of Tampa, where its pre-Olympic residency program is headquartered. This season, the team will play a series of games against Canada as part of The Time is Now Tour, presented by Toyota, in preparation for the Olympic Winter Games.
The Tour kicks off next Wednesday (Oct. 25) at Agganis Arena in Boston and also includes the 2017 Four Nations Cup, which will be held Nov. 7-12 in Wesley Chapel and Tampa, Florida, as well as games in St. Paul (Dec. 3) and San Jose (Dec. 15).
For more information in the 2017-18 U.S. Women’s National Team as it prepares for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, click here or follow along on social media @USAHockey on Twitter and Instagram, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/uswomenshockey.
NOTES: The U.S. and Canada will also meet three times in Canada this season, including games on Oct. 22 in Quebec City, Dec. 5 in Winnipeg and Dec. 17 in Edmonton ... NHL Network will televise four of the U.S.-Canada games live, including all three in Canada and the Oct. 25 contest in Boston. NBCSN will provide live broadcasts of the U.S.-Canada matchups on Dec. 3 in St. Paul and Dec. 15 in San Jose. HockeyTV.com will stream live all games of the Four Nations Cup.