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U.S. Under-18 Earns 3rd Straight Gold Medal

By Minnesota Hockey, 01/16/17, 11:00AM CST

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The U.S. Women’s National Under-18 team won its third consecutive gold medal at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship this weekend. Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, MN/Breck School) scored the game-winner and was named the U.S. Player of the Game in Team USA’s 3-1 win over Canada in the gold-medal game.

After a scoreless first period, Delaney Drake (Traverse City, MI/Leland High School) gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead on a power play goal in the second period. Canada tied the game with 6:17 remaining in the game, but Zumwinkle broke the tie with 2:32 to play and Emily Oden (Edina, MN/Edina High School) sealed the win with an empty net goal.

The victory marked Team USA’s sixth championship in the first 10 years of the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship. The U.S. and Canada have gone head-to-head in all of the event’s gold medal games, and the U.S. now holds a 3-3-2-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record in those games.

"I'm incredibly proud of this group of girls for all of their hard work and dedication," said Joel Johnson (White Bear Lake, MN), head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. “They deserved this impressive accomplishment and will have this golden memory forever.”

Cayla Barnes (Corona, CA/New Hampton School) was named the Best Defenseman in the tournament for the second year in a row. Barnes tied Zumwinkle for the U.S. lead in scoring and led all tournament defensemen with six points (4-2--6) in five games. Barnes, Alex Gulstene (Evanston, IL/Okanagan Hockey Academy) and Natalie Heising (Maple Grove, MN/Wayzata High School) were recognized as Team USA’s top players of the tournament.

For the third consecutive year, players from Minnesota played key roles in the success of Team USA at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship. In 2015, eight Minnesotans participated on the gold medal team and 16 were a part of last year’s title team. This year the gold medal squad featured 11 Minnesota natives and six of them finished the tournament with multiple points.

For complete tournament details, click here.

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