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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 25 TAKING THE LEAD Just prior to the tournament, head coach Joel Johnson selected Red Wing's Taylor Heise captain of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. Shako- pee's Gracie Ostertag and Edina's Madeline Wethington were named alternates, along with California native Dominique Petrie. "Taylor is a real positive and encouraging teammate that has great passion for representing the U.S. on the interna- tional stage," Johnson said. "All four of these players bring great experience as a leadership group and have a positive influence on this team both on and off the ice." OLD RELIABLE This is the fourth consecutive year Joel Johnson was se- lected to coach the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. The White Bear Lake native is currently in his 13th season as an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota, where the women's program collected six NCAA national titles with him on the bench. "It's always an honor to serve as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team and I look forward to another successful season," said Johnson. "I love work- ing with our young players and aspire to help them achieve their goals while representing USA Hockey." FORWARDS 9 // ABBY MURPHY, Evergreen Park, Ill., Chicago Mission 11 // DOMINIQUE PETRIE, Beverly Hills, Calif., San Diego Junior Gulls 12 // MAKENNA WEBSTER, St. Louis, Mo., Shattuck St. Mary's 14 // BRITTA CURL, Bismarck, N.D., Bismarck Blizzard High School 15 // KATELYN KNOLL, Amherst, N.Y., Nichols School 16 // CASEY O'BRIEN, Milton, Mass., Shattuck St. Mary's 18 // KELLY BROWNE, Burlington, Mass., Boston Junior Eagles 19 // ANNE BLOOMER, Chicago, Ill., Chicago Young Americans 20 // SYDNEY SHEAREN, Hugo, Minn., White Bear Lake High School 22 // MAGGIE FLAHERTY, Lakeville, Minn., Lakeville North High School 23 // TAYLOR HEISE, Lake City, Minn., Red Wing High School 24 // HANNAH BILKA, Coppell, Texas, Shattuck St. Mary's DEFENSE 2 // GRACIE OSTERTAG, Shakopee, Minn., Shattuck St. Mary's 3 // MAGGIE NICHOLSON, Minnetonka, Minn., Minnetonka High School 4 // MADELINE WETHINGTON, Edina, Minn., The Blake School 5 // MADISON BIZAL, Elk River, Minn., Elk River High School 6 // LIZI NORTON, Orono, Minn., Orono High School 7 // HADLEY HARTMETZ, Phoenixville, Penn., Shattuck St. Mary's 8 // ALLY SIMPSON, Frisco, Texas, Shattuck St. Mary's 10 // LILY FARDEN, Hingham, Mass., East Coast Wizards GOALIES 1 // CALLA FRANK, Hugo, Minn., White Bear Lake High School 29 // MAKAYLA PAHL, Rochester, Minn., Rochester Mayo High School 30 // LINDSAY REED, New Vernon, N.J., The Hotchkiss School 2016 (which rostered 16 Minnesotans) and 2017. The trio is com- mitted to play together at the University of Minnesota, and have played against each other throughout their youth. "I've known both of them since we were 8 or 9 years old," Wethington told USA Hockey. "We're super competitive against each other and with each other, we all want to be the best we can be, but we support each other. This whole process is bigger than ourselves." Heise added that it doesn't get any better than playing with friends and representing your country—especially when there's a winning outcome. "It's such a great opportunity to experience so many things at such a young age," Heise told USA Hockey. "I'm able to experience this with two other people— Gracie and Maddie—that I've been around with forever, and that's super special." MEET THE 2018 U-18 SQUAD "We all want to be the best we can be, but we suppport each other." – M A D E L INE W E T HIN G T O N