M H J O N L I N E . C O M | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
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Photos / Nancie Battaglia
T H E
NEXT
O N E S ?
The future of the U.S. Women's National
Team is on the 2018 U.S. Women's National
Under-18 Team—which boasts
10 Minnesota natives
By J E S S I P I E R C E
I
F YOU WANT A GLIMPSE at what the future
looks like for the U.S. Women's National Team, the
Under-18 team is a good place to start.
Winners of three straight gold medals, the 2018
squad looked to capture top honors for a fourth
consecutive year at the International Ice Hockey
Federation U-18 Women's World Championship in
Dmitrov, Russia, which concluded after press time on
Jan. 13. Team USA has played in the gold-medal game
in all 10 of the previous IIHF Under-18 Women's World
Championships, capturing the event's top prize six times
(2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017).
While the stars have been shining for Team America,
even more promising is the amount of Minnesotans
that are wearing the red, white and blue. This year's
team boasted 10 Minnesota natives. Taylor Heise (Lake
City), Madeline Wethington (Edina) and Gracie Ostertag
(Shakopee) were on the gold-medal winning teams in
Red Wing senior Taylor Heise
was named captain of the 2018
Women's National Under-18-Team,
