USA Hockey Magazine

Daley had hat tricks in each of the team's three group games and would go on to set a new tournament record with 12 goals, besting Haley Skarupa's 11 from 2012. When all was said and done in Sydney, Daley was named Tournament MVP and earned the Directorate Award as the tournament's best forward. "My teammates have done a really good job of getting pucks on my stick. I just did my job by burying those," Daley said. " We trust ourselves and we trust each other. We all have each other's backs. That's super important." Daley and Amelkovich, who are also line- mates at Shattuck- St. Mary 's prep school, brought chemistry and ability to anticipate each other's moves on the ice. Amelkovich wa s c r e d i t e d w i t h a n a s s i st o n s e ve n o f Daley's 12 goals and Daley assisted on one of Amelkovich's two goals. Hansen and linemate Emily Po h l a l s o b r o u g h t p r e v i o u s experience playing together to Team USA and it paid off during the gold-medal game. On a faceoff late in the first period, Hansen said she approached the faceoff dot think- ing she would pull the puck back to Lindsay Stepnowski, but Pohl told her to push the puck forward. It was a set play they had used successfully against Hungary where Hansen pushes the puck through her faceoff opponents' legs, dives around them and quickly centers the pass to a waiting Pohl at the net front. Pohl said she felt like it was a good time to use the play again. "(Hansen) executed it perfectly. I just had to tap it in," said Pohl. That turned out to be the gold-medal-win- ning goal, and it perfectly encapsulated the confidence of the team, the trust of the coach- ing staff to empower them to make that call in that position and the connection and com- munication that allowed them to pull it off. Stepnowski got her own moment later in the game, adding an insurance goal when she stepped into the high slot to put back a rebound on a chance from Hansen to make it 2-0. No one on Team USA had a "perfect gold" in mind this past year, but Pohl said it wasn't surprising to her that it was something this team had been able to accomplish without even realizing it. "Our coaches instilled all our habits in us and every single kid bought in. When that happens, this is the outcome," she said. "Being able to do it for our country was the best thing ever." P BY THE NUMBERS: 0 10 MINUTES TRAILING OR TIED (AFTER 0-0) GOLD MEDALS FOR U.S. UNDER-18 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM 54 6 GAMES PLAYED GOAL DIFFERENTIAL 12 GOALS SCORED BY JANE DALEY NEW TOURNAMENT RECORD MARCH 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 43 They came in loud— and they left quiet." W A T C H JANE DALEY: Playing Her Game 2026 U18 #WomensWorlds - BIANCA BIRRITTIERI pWKw6OxKFP0

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