USA Hockey Magazine

T HE U.S. UNDER-18 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM won a record- setting 10th gold medal at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship in Sydney and Membertou, Nova Scotia, in January with a 2-0 victory over Canada. The Americans completed the first-ever "perfect gold" at the U18 level, having never trailed or tied in a game after 0-0. They outscored opponents 56-2 in six games. Talla Hansen said playing in a sold-out arena with more than 5,000 fans screaming for Canada wasn't intimidating. Rather, it hyped her up. "It's Canada's home territory, but I like playing in opponents' territory. We play better when there are more people and when the pressure is high. I honestly think it helped us in a lot of ways," Hansen said. Goaltender Bianca Birrittieri took pride in quieting the crowd by the time the final buzzer sounded with her 38-save shutout. "Being able to step up, make saves, shut the crowd down, make it quiet—it's awesome. They came in loud and well, they left quiet," she said. Despite their perfect trip to the top of the podium, it certainly wasn't a given that Team USA would skate away with gold. Ten members of the 2026 squad were part of the team that won silver at the 2025 tournament. The sting of that loss motivated them, explained Jane Daley. "After losing last year, we came back and we wanted to win. We had a little chip on our shoulder. Last year wasn't how we wanted it to be," Daley said. No one on Team USA had a "perfect gold" in mind this past year, but Emily 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 O F F THE D R AW p U S A H O C K E Y N E W S , P E O P L E A N D P R O G R A M S Teamwork And Communication Propelled U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team To Record-Setting 10th Gold Medal KEY INGREDIENTS U.S. UNDER-18 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM MARCH 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 7 By Nicole Haase READ FULL ARTICLE ON PAGE 40 They came in loud — and they left quiet." - BIANCA BIRRITTIERI PHOTOS BY Images On Ice 40 + D I G I T A L BO NU S C O N TE NT page

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