Wondering what happened at this year’s World Championship? Read below to find out!
On Jan. 10, the preliminary round began! Team USA took an astonishing win against Slovakia with a score of 13-0. New England was strongly represented in this face-off! Maggie Averill of Wayland, Massachusetts, scored three goals; Annabelle Lovell of Hingham, Massachusetts, scored one; Jane Daley of Medfield, Massachusetts, scored three; Lindsay Stepnowski of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, scored one and Christina Scalese of West Boylston, Massachusetts, scored two goals. The next day, the USA beat Czechia with a final score of 9-1. In this game, Averill and Stepnowski made a mark for New England, scoring two of the goals!
In the third preliminary round, Team USA faced Finland after climbing their way through the tournament’s first two. Team USA continued to kick their competitors to the curb with a win of 14-0! Annabelle Lovell scored two goals, Jane Daley secured three and Lindsay Stepnowski earned one point for the game. For their time on the ice, these New England women represented us well with nearly half the goals of the game!
The quarterfinal round took place on Jan. 15, where yet again the U.S. took the win! Scoring a shutout of 9-0 against Hungary, Team USA won their four preliminaries in all. Daley scored two points this game, while Stepnowski contributed another! Daley’s first goal was the starting point of the match. Stepnowski’s shot went in at the beginning of the second period, scoring the seventh point. Daley scored the eighth one of the night.
Semifinals determined that Team USA would face Team Canada in the gold game, while Teams Sweden and Czechia would face off! In the Team USA vs. Team Sweden semifinal match, Team USA won 8-1!
As the finals arrived, Czechia beat Sweden by one with the final score being 4-3. Czechia earned the Bronze medal spot on the podium.
In the end, Team USA took a perfect gold! New England’s Lindsay Stepnowski scored the second goal for the USA after teammate Emily Pohl scored in the first period. The final score against Canada was 2-0, marking these teams’ 15th time facing each other in the finals. Additionally, Jane Daley was named MVP for the tournament!