BRAMPTON, Ontario – With a four-goal third period, Team USA secured its first gold medal victory since 2019, while Canada earned silver. For the second straight year, Czechia earned the bronze, making it a total of 26 players with WCHA ties taking home a medal from the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
 
15 players with WCHA ties earned the gold with Team USA, eight for silver with Canada, while three were led to the bronze by Wisconsin alum Carla MacLeod with Czechia.
 
USA VS. CANADA
Hilary Knight (Wisconsin) proved to be captain clutch for Team USA. She scored two power play goals to complete a hat trick in the final 3:10 of regulation to rally the Americans past Canada 6-3 and secure its first gold medal since 2019 at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.
 
Team USA overcame a deficit three times in the gold medal matchup, while Knight’s third goal lifted her to 101 total points in her illustrious career. She was joined in scoring by 2023 WCHA Rookie of the Year Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) as she notched a goal and an assist to become the tournament’s leading scorer. Minnesota alum Amanda Kessel notched a pair of assists on two of Knight’s three goals, while fellow Gopher Abbey Murphy chipped in with a goal of her own.
 
Ohio State Fall 2023 transfer Cayla Barnes scored while 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner Taylor Heise (Minnesota) marked an assist on the Americans’ fifth goal of the day.
 
Canada took the early lead on a 5-on-3 power play goal just 6:29 into the game, but Murphy tied it for Team USA at 18:01, before Canada regained the lead in the second. The former Wisconsin All-American in Knight tied it 3:37 later, but the game remained back-and-forth as Canada took the lead yet again midway through regulation.
 
Although Canada held a one-goal edge heading into the third period, Team USA had a four-goal third period led off by Caroline Harvey tying the game 5:40 into the period with her fourth of the tournament. She ultimately recorded a point in every tournament game.
 
With Canada down two players for 49 seconds, Knight gave the United States its first lead of the evening with 3:10 remaining in regulation. The goal gave Knight 100 career points in world tournament play, adding to her record for most career points.
 
With the United States still on the power play, Knight deflected in Harvey’s drive only 27 seconds later to complete her hat trick. It was then that Canada pulled netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens (Wisconsin) with 2:23 left in regulation, where Barnes hit an empty net to secure the victory for Team USA.
 
Desbiens finished with 16 saves on her 21 shots faced, to be named the top netminder in the tournament. Knight was named a player of the game, while Harvey was tabbed as the top defender.
 
This was the 34th all-time meeting between Team USA and Canada, along with the 21st time the pair has met in the gold medal game.
 
IIHF GAME RECAP: IIHF - Knight's 100th point good as gold
 
CZECHIA VS. SWITZERLAND  
For the second straight year, Czechia took home the bronze medal with a victory over Switzerland. Coached by Wisconsin alum Carla MacLeod, Czechia skated ahead to a 3-2 win behind an 11-save performance by Blanka Skodova (Minnesota Duluth). Switzerland opened scoring with a power play tally by its captain in Lara Stalder (Minnesota Duluth), while former Ohio State goaltender Andrea Braendli made 30 saves on her 33 shots faced.
 
IIHF GAME RECAP: IIHF - Czechia wins back-to-back bronze
 
FINLAND VS. SWEDEN
Finland captured fifth place with a 3-1 victory over Sweden. St. Cloud State netminder Sanni Ahola made 18 saves on 19 shots faced to backbone Finland’s win, while Minnesota Duluth goaltender Emma Soderberg made 39 saves for Sweden and was named one of the Swedes’ Top-Three Players in the tournament. The victory assures that Finland will play in Pool A in the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
 
IIHF GAME RECAP: IIHF - Finland wins to return to Group A
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship is set to be held in Utica, N.Y. from April 4-14. For more info, click HERE. Overall, Harvey and Soderberg were named to the six-player All-Tournament Team, with more info HERE.


TOURNAMENT RESULTS: IIHF - Schedule and Results 2023 IIHF WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
All eight WCHA programs have ties to players at the Women’s World Championships, while of the 10 countries competing, eight have WCHA representation.

The United States leads WCHA representation with 15 players. Team Canada, which beat the United States for the gold medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics and the last two Women’s World Championships, has eight WCHA players speckling the lineup. Switzerland boasts a total of five WCHA players, while Germany and Finland each have four with WCHA ties. Sweden, Hungary, and Czechia each have three players with WCHA connections, while Czechia is coached by former Wisconsin standout Carla MacLeod.

Wisconsin has the most representatives at the event with 11 players, plus head coach MacLeod, including six on Team USA and five on Team Canada. Minnesota has eight players in the tournament, while Minnesota Duluth matches the eight players. St. Cloud State has seven competitors at Women’s Worlds, while Ohio State holds six players. St. Thomas’ trio of participants are all active 2022-23 student-athletes, while Bemidji State has a representative in Hayley Williams as she laces up for Hungary. Rounding out the WCHA rosters is a two-year Minnesota State player in Abbey Levy as she is between the pipes for the United States.

The Team USA contingent also includes former WCHA Commissioner Katie Million as USA Hockey’s Director of National Team Programs, Minnesota State’s assistant coach Shari Dickerman, hockey operations manager Nick Bryant, who has worked at both Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth, along with Minnesota’s strength coach Cal Dietz. Wisconsin’s athletic trainer Stef Arndt and equipment manager Sis Paulsen also join the staff.
 
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on Twitter and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at the new wcha.com.
 
45 PLAYERS, 22 CURRENT STUDENT-ATHLETES, 4 FUTURE STUDENT-ATHLETES, 1 COACH
 
UNITED STATES (15 Players, 7 Current)
Cayla Barnes – Boston College, Ohio State (Fall 2023)
Hannah Bilka – Boston College, Ohio State (Fall 2023)
Britta Curl – Wisconsin *
Lacey Eden – Wisconsin *
Caroline Harvey – Wisconsin *
Taylor Heise – Minnesota *
Gabbie Hughes – Minnesota Duluth *
Amanda Kessel – Minnesota
Hilary Knight – Wisconsin
Nicole LaMantia – Wisconsin *
Abbey Levy – Minnesota State, Boston College
Abbey Murphy – Minnesota *
Kelly Pannek – Minnesota
Abbey Roque – Wisconsin
Lee Stecklein – Minnesota
 
CANADA (8 Players, 1 Current)
Kristen Campbell – North Dakota, Wisconsin
Emily Clark – Wisconsin
Ann-Renee Desbiens – Wisconsin
Jocelyne Larocque – Minnesota Duluth
Emma Maltais – Ohio State *
Sarah Nurse – Wisconsin
Natalie Spooner – Ohio State
Blayre Turnbull – Wisconsin
 
SWITZERLAND (5 Players, 3 Current)
Andrea Braendli – Ohio State, Boston U.
Saskia Maurer – St. Thomas *
Lara Stalder – Minnesota Duluth
Nicole Vallario – St. Thomas *
Laura Zimmermann – St. Cloud State *
 
FINLAND (4 Players, 3 Current, 1 Future)
Sanni Ahola – St. Cloud State *
Nelli Laitinen – Minnesota *
Jenniina Nylund – St. Cloud State *
Sofianna Sundelin – St. Cloud State (Fall 2023)
 
GERMANY (4 Players, 2 Current)
Marie Delarbre – Minnesota Duluth, Merrimack
Nina Jobst-Smith – Minnesota Duluth *
Laura Kluge – St. Cloud State
Svenja Voigt – St. Cloud State *

CZECHIA (3 Players, 2 Current)
Klara Hymlarova – St. Cloud State *
Katerina Mrazova – Minnesota Duluth
Blanka Skodova – Minnesota Duluth *
Head Coach Carla MacLeod – Wisconsin
 
SWEDEN (3 Current Players)
Josefin Bouveng – Minnesota *
Sofie Lundin – Ohio State *
Emma Soderberg – Minnesota Duluth *
 
HUNGARY (3 Players, 1 Current, 1 Future)
Emma Kreisz – Minnesota (Fall 2023)
Lotti Odnoga – St. Thomas *
Hayley Williams – Bemidji State
 
* active player