The USA Hockey Girls Under-18 Select Player Development Camp in Biddeford, Maine, will head into its final day Friday as the four teams square off in championship and third-place games. The championship will feature Team Red and Team Blue, while Team Gold and Team White will battle for the third-place spot in the week-long camp.

Team Red 4, Team Blue 3 – Team Red will try to finish off an undefeated week on Friday after improving to 3-0 today with a 4-3 win over Team Blue. Dominique Petrie (Beverly Hills, Calif.) opened the scoring for Team Red as she scored just 1:28 into the first period. Team Blue tied things up on a goal from Brooke Bink (Escanaba, Mich.) 9:56 into the frame, but Sydney Langseth (Eden Prairie, Minn.) gave Team Red the lead right back just over a minute later.

Trailing 2-1 heading into the second, Team Blue tied things up again just over three minutes in as Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas) took a pass from Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) and scored.

Team Red once again responded with a goal from Jessica Schryver (Ansonia, Conn.) 8:23 into the period to make it 3-2, but the Blue squad would not go away quietly. This time, the game-tying goal came from Calli Forsberg (Devils Lake, N.D.) 3:36 into the third period.

Team Red grabbed the lead for good when Madisen Peterson (Princeton, Minn.) scored a short-handed goal just 15 seconds later to make it 4-3.

Josephine Bothun (Wyoming, Minn.) stopped 18 shots and Hannah Hogenson (Anchorage, Alaska) made eight saves in the net for Team Red. Team Blue’s Natalie Ferenc (Orchard Lake, Mich.) finished with 12 saves and teammate Makayla Pahl (Rochester, Minn.) stopped two shots.

While Petrie was happy to get the victory on Thursday, this week is about much more than just wins and losses.

“It’s a great experience. You make a lot of new friendships, people that I’ve never met before I’m getting along with and getting a chance to play with them, it’s incredible,” said Petrie, who is in her third summer of USA Hockey camps.

Petrie has also enjoyed learning from the experienced coaching staff in Biddeford.

“We have an unbelievable staff here that’s helping me develop my game to an even higher, more elite level and it’s something that’s just unlike any other experience that I’ve been able to have,” said Petrie. “It’s unbelievable. I look up to all those players. They are great role models and leaders and just being able to have them on the ice with us, giving us their input on my game, on everyone’s game, seeing what they see. Their input means so much to me because I look up to them, and it’s unlike anything else.”

Team Blue’s Ashley Messier (Grand Blanc, Mich.) agreed with Petrie.

“Getting input from players that are past and present on the Olympic Team, that’s everyone’s dream and they know it best,” said Messier. “The fact that they let us know what we need to be doing better, what we are doing well and getting us better as a team and players is really, really special.”

Both Petrie and Messier are looking forward to bringing the knowledge they’ve picked up this week back to their home teams.

“Playing as a team I think is the biggest thing I’m going to be taking back to my team back home — team first,” said Petrie.

Team Gold 7, Team White 2 – In the opening game on Thursday, it was all Team Gold as the squad skated to a 7-2 victory over Team White.

Sydney Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) led the way for Team Gold, as she scored twice and also dished out one assist. Adelaide Burton (Orono, Minn.) had one goal and two assists, while Katie Monihan (Moorestown, N.J.) added one goal and one assist and Peyton Anderson (Arvada, Colo.), Courtney Hyland (Wellesley, Mass.) and Makenzie Bachelor (Shakopee, Minn.) all scored once.

Team Gold also received two assists from Makenna Webster (St. Louis, Mo.), and Jennifer Olnowich (Madison, N.J.) stopped 11 shots in the net.

For Team White, Brooke Becker (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Ann-Marie Fitzgerald (Shaker Heights, Ohio) scored goals and Kailey Langefels (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Olivia Mobley (St. Louis Park, Minn.) added assists. Pahl stopped 11 shots and Hogenson made four saves.

Burton will be looking to lead Team Gold to a third-place finish tomorrow, but no matter what happens, she will leave Biddeford a better hockey player.

“Just being able to come every day to compete in the competitive atmosphere that this camp brings has been such a great, unbelievable opportunity,” said Burton. “In Minnesota, obviously we have great coaches and great camps, but once you get here, it’s completely different than anything than you could of imagined.”

For Team White’s Katy Knoll (Amherst, N.Y.), this week has been all about soaking up the information and implementing it for the future.

“It’s just a different pace than what you play back home, so it sets a level for what you need to do in the summer to prepare for your upcoming season,” said Knoll.

Both Burton and Knoll have also enjoyed working with the Olympians on the coaching staff.

“There are no words. It’s just spectacular to be able to learn from such unbelievable players,” said Burton. “The knowledge they have about the game. The way they’re able to see it and relay it and tell it to us, I’m just so thankful to be able to be a part of it.”