Team USA captured its 10th gold medal at the U18 Women’s World Championships, completing the first-ever “perfect gold” run by going undefeated and never trailing in the tournament.

by Robert Brent

The Team USA U18 Women’s team recently made history by capturing the program’s 10th gold medal at the 18U Women’s World Championships in January. 

While the program is no stranger to earning medals, this year’s team was special. The 2026 U18 Women’s World Championship captured the first-ever “perfect gold” in the history of the tournament. Perfect gold means the team went undefeated, never trailed and were never tied beyond the opening faceoff

Team USA dominated matchup after matchup on their way to the feat, outscoring opponents 56-2 throughout the tournament. The largest margin of victory came in a 14-0 win over Team Finland, in which 15 different players notched points.

Many of Team USA’s games featured large margins of victory, but it all led to a showdown with last year’s winner, Team Canada. 

Canada defeated the USA in the 2025 final and looked to repeat in 2026. Holy Family forward Maddy Kimbrel was on team USA in 2025 and returned for the tournament in 2026. She reflected on what it meant to suit up for Team USA once again after winning silver the previous year.

“It’s a great experience every time you get to put on the USA jersey and represent your country…Last year’s team was a great first experience. This year, being a returner and knowing what it felt like to come up short of gold was motivational.”

The U18 Women’s Championship almost always comes down to a final between USA and Canada, with this year marking their 15th matchup in 18 tournaments.  Team USA defender and Minnesota commit Katya Sander spoke about the challenge of the tournament, knowing that the team was likely to match up with Canada.

“The most challenging part of the tournament was making sure we stayed sharp in our games that had a vast difference in score. We knew our game against Canada was going to be extremely close and tough,” Sander said. “Making sure we were consistent and sharp with our team habits was important…but it was still difficult.”

To add to matters, Canada played host for the tournament with the event being held this year in Membertou and Sydney, Nova Scotia, on scenic Cape Breton. The Maritimes are a hockey-mad stronghold for Canada, and the hometown partisan crowd made for a raucous environment.

USA forward and Hill-Murray standout Emily Pohl spoke about the atmosphere in a recent interview with KSTP. She says the sold-out crowd for the gold medal game only added to how special the experience was.

“Attendance was over 5000 people, the whole rink was sold out, which was insane,” Pohl said. “It was so cool being able to play in that environment with those stakes. It gets your adrenaline pumping.”

The moment clearly wasn’t too big for Pohl and her team USA teammates. Pohl scored the game’s opening goal in the first period.

Fellow Minnesotan Talla Hansen, a Wayzata native who plays for Benilde-St. Margaret’s added two assists in the game as well. Hansen spoke after the tournament about her big performance in the gold medal game.

“I felt fully locked in and ready to go. Seeing my name on the scoresheet twice was obviously really cool, but during the game I wasn’t thinking about points at all,” Hansen said. “I was just focused on my next shift and what I could do in that moment to help our team.”

Pohl and Hansen’s standout performances, alongside a goal by Lindsay Stepnowski and 38 saves from Bianca Birrittieri, powered Team USA to a 2-0 victory over the Canadian hosts. The moment was special not just for the players, but for USA hockey fans around the world.

George Hansen, Talla’s father, spoke about the moment the final buzzer sounded.

“Our whole USA section went crazy as the girls were flinging off their gear and piling on the ice and celebrating,” Hansen said. “When the girls celebrated, all of us as parents celebrated equally as well, because it was really a great, great moment, great experience.”

Pohl and Hansen played key roles in the USA’s tournament victory, but they were far from the only players on the team with Minnesota connections. 

Team USA featured nine players from Minnesota, including Emily Pohl (Hill-Murray), Talla Hansen (Benilde-St. Margaret’s), Alaina Gnetz (Centennial/SLP), Maddy Kimbrel (Holy Family), Mia Miller (Northfield), Katya Sander (Holy Family), Taylee Manion (Proctor/Hermantown), Addy McLay (Hill-Murray) and Bailey Rupp (Bemidji).

Apart from the nonet of players from Minnesota, four players, Kylie Amelkovich (Glen Ellyn, Ill), Jane Daley (Medfield, Mass.), Morgan Stickney (Manhattan Beach, CA) and Sloane Hartmetz (Phoenixville, PA), play in the State of Hockey at Faribault’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

The players represent a variety of high schools and programs, but they have plenty of experience playing together. Throughout play with club teams, summer programs and international games, the Minnesota contingent of the team is tight-knit, making the experience even more special.

Emily Pohl spoke about having the chance to play with lifelong friends and teammates on such a big stage.

“Eight of them are on my club team, and I played with them every day since fifth grade. We’re a really tight group. I think being able to do it with them was really special, and I don’t know how many people realize what that means to us.”

For Pohl and the rest of the team, the memories of winning gold in Nova Scotia are sure to last a lifetime. The chance to pull on the USA sweater and represent their country against the best the world has to offer is a dream for players across the nation. That sentiment was echoed by defender Katya Sander.

“The opportunity to go to Worlds and represent my country was something I’ll never forget! To play with and against the best players in the world was extremely motivating and pushed all of us to raise our level of play,” Sander said. “I definitely grew a lot as a player and person over the course of the tournament.”