OSTERSUND, Sweden — Team USA did not end the 2022 U18 Women's World Championship on a good note.
The Americans defeated rival Canada 7-0 in the preliminary round of the 2022 tournament but ended up falling to Canada 3-2 in the championship game.
Even though the team still went home with a silver medal, they had a taste for gold that they just couldn't satisfy in the end.
Now it's 2023 and a chance for the U.S. to start fresh in the tournament with a clean slate.
The Americans will have to start anew with multiple new faces joining the roster for the January tournament. Only seven of the 23 players are returners from the 2022 games.
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One thing that will be a desperate need for the U.S. will be scoring. The team lost it's five leading scorers from the summer and will need new skaters to fill some big shoes, and to fill them quickly.
Three veterans who will be heavily relied upon for offensive production are Finley McCarthy (Whitefish, MT / Wisconsin), Maggie Scannell (Wynantskill, NY / Wisconsin), and Cassie Hall (South Lyon, MI / Wisconsin).
Annelies Bergmann (Lancaster, PA / Cornell) is likely to get the starting nod in goal for Team USA. The 6-foot netminder posted a .934 save percentage in the 2022 tournament and has promising numbers with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies throughout her career so far.
Other names to watch for this tournament include Minnesota natives and returners Josie St. Martin (Stillwater, Minn. / Ohio State) and Ava Lindsay (Minnetonka, Minn. / Minnesota).
Joy Dunne (O'Fallon, Mo. / Ohio State) will captain Team USA alongside Molly Jordan (Berlin, Conn. / Boston College) and Maggie Scannell (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Wisconsin) who will both wear an 'A'.
Katie Lachapelle returns as head coach of the squad, with Brianna Decker , Liz Keady Norton , and Lindsay Berman as assistant coaches.
The USA had one pre-tournament game on Jan. 5, where they fell to Sweden, 1-0.
Late goal by Sweden sees the USA lose 1-0. We're back at it Jan. 8 vs Sweden again in Östersund! pic.twitter.com/uohKiUjnsE
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 4, 2023
The Americans will rematch Sweden in their very first preliminary game of the tournament at 9 a.m. CT Jan. 8. Games will be streamed live on the NHL Network.
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Team USA has always won either gold or silver in the entire history of the tournament. Last time the team won gold was in 2020.
Group A includes the USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland, while Group B hosts Slovakia, Czechia, Switzerland and Japan.
