U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team

2017 World Ice Hockey Champions

Team Roster

Nicole Hensley, Alex Rigsby, Monique Lamoureux, Kacey Bellamy, Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne, Megan Keller, Emily Pfalzer, Kelly Pannek, Amanda Kessel, Amanda Pelkey, Lee Stecklein, Kali Flanagan, Meghan Duggan, Hannah Brandt, Alex Carpenter, Megan Bozek, Haley Skarupa, Kelli Stack, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Gigi Marvin

Head Coach - Robb Stauber

Associate Coach - Brent Strot

Assistant Coach - Paul Mara

Assistant Coach - Chris Tamer

General Manager - Reagan Carey

The U.S. women’s national ice Hockey team beat tEam Canada 3-2 in the 1st overtime in the gold-medal game of the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship on April 7 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

It's the eighth gold for the Americans in the last ten Women's Worlds but the first ever on home ice. Canada has not won gold now since 2012 in Burlington, Vermont.

"The last time we played at home we lost to them in Vermont, and we didn't want that feeling again," said defenceman Kacey Bellamy, who scored the Americans' two goals in regulation.

Canada’s Meghan Agosta opened up the scoring to put her side up early in the first period when she beat Hensley stick side, ripping a shot over her glove 61 seconds after the opening faceoff.. Later in the first period, USA’s Kacey Bellamy responded with a slapshot from the blue line through traffic at 4:34 to tie the game. The first period ended with both sides a goal apiece.

After a scoreless second period, Bellamy scored put the U.S. up 2-1 just 42 seconds into the third period off Knight’s between-the-legs, backhand pass. Brianne Jenner scored for Canada with a power-play goal to tie it 2-2 at 9:44 of the third. The goal was initially waved off, but awarded after video review.

The U.S. had two power plays in the third period with 7:24 and 2:24 left along with another power play early in OT, but the Americans couldn't capitalize on the opportunities to score a go-ahead or winning goal with an extra skater.

The game went into overtime. The two teams are no strangers when it comes to OT. Last year the U.S. women defeated Canada 1-0 in overtime in the gold medal game at the World Championships and before that both 2012 and 2011 gold medal games also went to overtime between the two teams.

With Canada pushing on the offense in the U.S. zone, Knight blocked a shot from the blueline, which turned into a 3 on 2 rush for the Americans. "I was just thinking, 'I have to block this shot,' and then I was thinking, 'I have to get it to Kendall,' because she's fast as hell," Knight described. "She created a lot of separation for me, so I just kind of filled in behind her and took the shot."

"She got the puck up to me and I just rushed in with speed," Coyne said. "I knew Hil was right behind me. When you have the best player in the world behind you, you get her the puck."

Knight ended it at 10:17, wiring a slap shot off the cross-bar and past Szabados for the gold-medal winner.

The U.S. outshot Canada, 40-30, finished 0-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

The victory gives the U.S. Women’s National Team its fourth consecutive world championship and seventh in the past eight competitions. Team USA, who finished the event with a 5-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, went undefeated at the tournament for the third consecutive year and has now won eight world championships overall.

Finland won bronze Friday with an 8-0 win over Germany. Fourth is the best result ever for that country. Russia placed fifth and Sweden sixth.

This year’s world championship averaged 800 spectators per game at USA Hockey Arena, which houses two rinks.