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The national women’s hockey team for the United States of America is currently ranked number 1 in the world, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation, and has won 7 of the Federation’s last 8 Women’s World Championships, including the 4 most recent ones. There’s no reason for them to think they’ll be bringing home anything but gold medals when they return from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Women’s Hockey is becoming far more diverse and publicised in the United States, and there is a real feeling of support for fellow female athletes. This was most clearly seen in the equality campaign that was staged earlier this year, which no doubt was inspired by and gave more support to the changing landscape of the sport. The national team’s pre-Olympic tour, sponsored by Toyota, is operating under the title “The Time is Now” and the name couldn’t be more apt. The roster for the 2017-2018 side is as impressive as their enthusiasm, their fitness levels and their work ethic.
The 37 women Hockey players who are going to Pyeongchang county in South Korea next year include many of the best and brightest stars the sport has seen so far. Twins Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando are from an athletic dynasty, with professional athletes for brothers and a father who was a backup goaltender for the University of North Dakota. They’ve been accumulating honours in the sport for years.
The team is captained by the highly capable and impressive Meghan Duggan, winner of the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award, and among many other victories she captained the American to gold at the 2015 Women’s World Championship. Watching the reels assemble on the online slots Canada players are lucky enough to have access to, is about as exciting as watching Duggan on the ice!
Forward Hilary Knight was in the Four Nations Cup at just 17, and is returning for her third Olympics in 2018. Her experience, impressive goal-scoring and overall skills will stand the team in good stead. Other players to watch on the national team include Hannah Brandt of the Minnesota Whitecaps and Amanda Kessel of the New York Riveters, both previously of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Brandt, at 23, is among the younger players, but has racked up several NCAA and WCHA honours already.
Kessel has spent a lot of her career playing with minor injuries and she took the 2014-2015 off to recover from terrible sudden after-effects from a concussion. Having worked hard to overcome that, and feeling at times like she never would, she is back to being among the top players in the world but is still not performing at her peak. She’s getting better all the time, is very determined and still has time before February, to improve even more.
There are many other impressive players on the team, but the other important factor is that there they have a coach with an established track record. Robb Stauber guided them to their 2017 Women’s World Championship victory, and the players trust him to do the same in South Korea next year. He has been completely invested in the Women’s Hockey team for years, and it seems fitting that he is at the helm as they go from strength to strength.
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URL: http://www.whockey.com/mews/2017/OlympicsUSA.html