Fanale is out with an injury suffered in the exhibition game. Sounds day to day.
Fanale is out with an injury suffered in the exhibition game. Sounds day to day.
Thanks, watched a fair amount of the stream of that exhibition, but it was tough to tell exactly what was going on. Camera work was fine, but no announcers and the U.S. wore the jerseys that had the white numbers over a white stripe. Tough to make things out.
No one's really giving this US team a chance. I understand why, but with 16 goals through their first two games and all the history the Americans have at this tournament, maybe they're not that bad.
No one's really giving this US team a chance. I understand why, but with 16 goals through their first two games and all the history the Americans have at this tournament, maybe they're not that bad.
Might have a clearer picture of this U.S. team after Wednesday’s game with the Swedes. Yes Canada looks almost unbeatable this year, but no more unbeatable than the U.S. team did in Madison two tournaments ago, and you know how that turned out.
From a recruiting standpoint, I believe all the girls on the U.S. team who are eligible (high school juniors and seniors) have made their commitments, but there are six younger players on the ROSTER who are uncommitted.
Class of ‘26
- G Natalia Dilbone (Little Caesars) From South Lyon, Michigan
- F Caroline Averill (Phillips Academy) From Wayland, Massachusetts
- F Haley Box (Shattuck) From Eden Prairie
- F Quinn Taylor (NAHA) From Centreville, Massachusetts
Class of ‘27
- D Margaret Averill (Phillips Academy) From Wayland, Massachusetts
- F Mary Derrenbacher (Shattuck) From Raleigh, North Carolina
Haley Box will probably be the most heavily recruited local prospect in the next recruiting cycle. I’ve been told that the family is not from here originally. Not sure that’s correct.
The Averill sisters will be coveted by probably everyone. It will likely be tough to get them out of the East. Mother was a two time Patty Kazmaier finalist (1998 and 1999) at Princeton (maiden name was Ali Coughlin) and OLDER SISTER is a freshman at Dartmouth.
Canada edges Finland 10-0 to finish pool play undefeated. Chloe Primerano becomes the first defender in tournament history to get a hat trick. Sienna D’Alessandro scores twice and goalie Hannah Clark has a seven save shutout.
Insomnia? The U.S. plays Sweden at 5:00 a.m. in the last game of pool play. Winner will be the top seed in Group “B” going into the knockout round. Game is on NHL Network.
Follow HERE
U.S. beats Sweden 4-0. Layla Hemp with a 28 save shutout named U.S. player of the game. U.S. wins Group “B” and will take on Germany (last place in Group “A”) in the first round of the knockout round. Gopher recruit Bella Fanale in the lineup, but only skates three shifts.
U.S. Blanks Sweden, 4-0, To Claim Top Spot In Group B
U.S. downs Sweden, gets Germany in QF
The U.S. - Germany quarterfinal will be Thursday (tomorrow) at 1:30 p.m. on NHL Network
A piece on class of ‘27 potential target and the youngest player on the U.S. team.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2024/01/03/mary-derrenbacher-hockey
Thursday’s quarterfinal schedule
Sweden vs. Czechia 3:00 a.m.
Finland vs. Slovakia 6:30 a.m.
Canada vs. Switzerland 10:00 a.m.
U.S. vs. Germany 1:30 p.m.
U-18 World Championships Quarterfinals Preview
The U.S. - Germany game is on NHL Network. Not sure if their coverage will expand now that playoffs are starting. Probably not.
IIHF article on 
recruit Tereza Plosová. Think she’s coming in 2025-26 despite what the article says.
https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2024/ww18/news/57465/plosova_s_prowess_a_plus
She’s committed to the University of Minnesota for 2024-25. So what convinced her to become a Golden Gopher?
“Have you seen the arena [Ridder Arena] where they play?” Plosova said. “It’s amazing. But mostly important, the coaches [including longtime bench boss Brad Frost] seem really nice.”
The Czechs knock off the Swedes 4-2 in the day’s first quarterfinal game. recruit Tereza Plosová with a goal and two assists. She’s #22 in red.
U.S. up 2-0 over Germany after one period. (FOLLOW HERE)
Canada beats Switzerland 6-0. Future Gophers heavily involved. Sienna D’Alessandro 2 goals, Gracie Graham 1 goal and 2 assists and Chloe Primerano 3 assists.
In the other quarterfinal Finland beats Slovakia 2-0.
U.S. 4, Germany 0 is the final
U.S. Advances To Semifinals, Drops Germany 4-0
U.S. makes semis, Finns up next
Saturday’s semifinals are……..
- Canada vs. Czechia at 8:00 a.m.
- U.S. vs. Finland at noon
The Hockey News: Examining The Best Player From Each Nation At The U-18s So Far
First semifinal, Canada - Czechia, faced off at 8:00. Follow HERE
In other tournament news, Switzerland beats Germany 2-1 in the relegation game, so Germany will drop back down to the 1A tournament next year. Conversely Japan defeats Italy 6-1 in the championship of the 1A tournament and will be moving back up to the top tournament.
🇨🇦 2
🇨🇿 4 FINAL, Holy 🤬
https://twitter.com/HockeyCanada/status/1746189569513357534?s=20
U.S. and Finland at noon on NHL Network
Wow!! What a major upset!
This is a very good thing for the sport. Women’s hockey is better if it’s not just the big 2 and the rest of the world.
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
Honestly waiting for Trudeau to declare war on Czechia soon.
Wow!! What a major upset!
This is a very good thing for the sport. Women’s hockey is better if it’s not just the big 2 and the rest of the world.
Agree with you totally. Two things I’m a little sorry about - Feel bad for goalie recruit Hannah Clark. Seems like she had a tough game. Was also looking forward to recording a Canada game from this tournament to get a better look at the five recruits. I’ve seen a lot of Gracie Graham and Chloe Primerano, but very little of the others.
🇺🇸 3
🇫🇮 2
After two periods. One of the 🇫🇮 goals scored by Tinja Tapani, one of the very few 2009 birth years in the tournament. Also the cousin of Minnesota PWHL forward Susanna Tapani.
EDIT: A quick check shows eight 2009 birth year - three each for Finland and Germany, one each for Czechia and Slovakia.
🇺🇸 4, 🇫🇮 2
Gold Medal game tomorrow at noon. Bronze Medal game tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.
Looks like viewing for tomorrow’s Gold Medal game is a little different. Live at noon on ESPN+. Tape delay on NHL Network at 6:00 p.m.
Canada - Finland bronze medal game starts at 8:00 a.m.
Follow game progress HERE
Bronze Medal Game
🇨🇦 8, 🇫🇮 1
Canada thrashes Finns for bronze
With 16 points (8+8=16), Primerano established a new single-tournament points record by a defender. In addition, the 17-year-old prodigy surpassed the U.S.'s Kendall Coyne Schofield (15 points in 2009) and Canada's Jessica Campbell (15 points, 2010) for the second-highest total in U18 Women's Worlds history. The U.S.'s Amanda Kessel (19 points, 2009) is tops all-time.
Congratulations to the US girls!!!!
They go a perfect 6-0 outscoring their opponents by a total of 32-7.
IIHF: Primerano is MVP
Tournament MVP
Chloe Primerano, Canada
Media All-Star Team
Goaltender: Aneta Senkova, Czechia
Defender: Chloe Primerano, Canada
Defender: Tuuli Tallinen, Finland
Forward: Emma Ekoluoma, Finland
Forward: Adela Sapovalivova, Czechia
Forward: Josie St. Martin, USA
Directorate awards
Best goalie: Aneta Senkova, Czechia
Best defender: Chloe Primerano, Canada
Best forward: Adela Sapovalivova, Czechia
Beside future Gopher Primerano, Sapovalivova is a Wisconsin recruit and St. Martin is heading to Ohio State. Tuuli Tallinen seems to be interested in playing NCAA.
From those awards, seems like there was a bit better individual star power on some of the other teams, but USA had the better whole team, just without flashy individual performances. Which is, of course, a recipe for success (unless your opponents have a LOT of stars)
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Among the post tournament accolades, the team’s coaches name the top three players on their teams. All three teams with Gopher recruits had at least one on their list.
🇨🇦 Canada
- Caitlin Kraemer (UMD)
- Chloe Primerano ( )
- Sienna D’Alessandro ( )
🇨🇿 Czechia
- Adela Sapovalivova (Wisconsin)
- Tereza Plosová ( )
- Anezka Cabelova
🇺🇸 U.S.A.
- Josie St. Martin (Ohio State)
- Layla Hemp ( )
- Maggie Scannell (Wisconsin)
Taken from THIS DOCUMENT
Maybe this article will wrap up World U18 stuff.
The Hockey News: Top 15 Performers From The 2024 U-18 World Championships
One other thing, of the nine Gopher recruits in this year’s tournament, three are young enough to return next year.
🇨🇦: Chloe Primerano and Sara Manness
🇺🇸: Bella Fanale
@iceburg Caitlin Kraemer had quite the tournament notching 10 goals in 6 games.
UMD got a good one with her.
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
The Manness twins might not be committed any longer. Sara is the only one with an Instagram, but her commitment post is no longer there and the Gopher account is no longer following her. Worth following up on to see if that's true.
I did a little update to the Women's Transfer Portal page. More names have been coming in lately but one interesting one was Natalie Mlynkova Vermont's leading scorer just entered. The Sr C 11-11-22pt with international experience should generate some interest from some schools.
Thought I’d throw this here. Being in the “Big 9” conference, they don’t have the toughest schedule around, but there is talent. Ayla Puppe should be a very solid Gopher, Grace McCoshen is headed to Ohio State and sophomore defender Mia Miller should get a lot of attention this coming year as recruiting attention turns to the class of ‘26. Northfield is coached by former Gopher Paige Haley.
Northfield girls hockey team building toward memorable season
The Manness twins might not be committed any longer. Sara is the only one with an Instagram, but her commitment post is no longer there and the Gopher account is no longer following her. Worth following up on to see if that's true.
An ARTICLE from the “Winnipeg Free Press” from earlier this week about the Manitoba girls on Canada’s team at the World U18 Championships. Sara quoted a lot, but doesn’t mention anything about college plans. Talks candidly about disappointment in tournament results and aggravating a back injury in the opening game in Switzerland. She’s going to sit out a couple weeks in Burlington to heal.
With things settling down after the World U18’s, thought it was a good time to bump the links up.
2024
G Hannah Clark (Etobicoke) From Oshawa, Ontario
F Kendra Distad (Minnetonka)
D Gracie Graham (Rink Hockey Academy-Kelowna) From Kelowna, British Columbia
D Carly Humphrey (Elk River)
D Kate Kosobud (Moorhead)
F Ayla Puppe (Northfield)
2025
F Sienna D’Alessandro (John Abbott College) From Pointe-Claire, Quebec
F Bella Fanale (Selects Academy) From Webster, New York
G Layla Hemp (Minnetonka) Sister of current Gophers Peyton and Josie Hemp
D Kate Manness (Burlington) From La Salle, Manitoba
F Sara Manness (Burlington) From La Salle, Manitoba
F Tereza Plosová (Djurgårdens IF) From Liberec, Czechia
D Chloe Primerano (Rink Hockey Academy-Kelowna) From North Vancouver, British Columbia
Still not a link, but found these stats for Sienna D’Alessandro in her games for John Abbott College played before the World U18 tournament. These are probably just from games JAC played in their league (CEGEP).
15 games, 13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points, 16 penalty minutes
My daughter's team played Stillwater today, so I finally got the chance to see Josie St. Martin play in person. Stillwater destroyed a very good 2-loss Woodbury team 6-0. St. Martin is good, but I thought at least 2 of her teammates were even more impressive than she was (#22 Finn, and #14 Lang). Not sure if they are committed anywhere, but wow.
Finn - New Hampshire (had Boston U. in my head)
Lang - Providence (she played 2 or 3 years at Breck in her younger days)
The JWHL comes to Mariucci and Ridder this weekend for their annual series of games (SCHEDULE). From a recruiting standpoint several notable class of ‘26 (current high school sophomores), the players that will be eligible to commit later this year, will be on display this weekend.
- Hayley McDonald (Balmoral Hall) Probably one of the top ‘26 in Canada for the upcoming recruiting season. A Winnipeg area native.
- Quinn Taylor (NAHA) Was a late addition to the U.S. team for the U18 worlds. Massachusetts native
- Loelie Lachapelle (Northwood School) Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec native.
- Rosalie Tremblay (Stanstead College) Older sister is a teammate at Stanstead and is a Colgate commit. Sherbrooke, Quebec native.
Shattuck is not in the JWHL, but has been invited to participate in this weekend for the last few years. The two sophomores on their Prep team will be top targets in this coming recruiting cycle. Haley Box, an Eden Prairie native, was on the U.S. team in the U18 Worlds. Chicago area native Kylie Amelkovich is the other Shattuck sophomore and should draw heavy interest.
One other player I’ll mention is Megan Mossey from Rothesay Netherwood School. She is a Prince Edward Island native who is a class of ‘27 member and is getting a lot of early attention.
My daughter's team played Stillwater today, so I finally got the chance to see Josie St. Martin play in person. Stillwater destroyed a very good 2-loss Woodbury team 6-0. St. Martin is good, but I thought at least 2 of her teammates were even more impressive than she was (#22 Finn, and #14 Lang). Not sure if they are committed anywhere, but wow.
None of these three are going to the Gophers? Frost not interested in them? They didn't fit?
I’m sure there was interest in St. Martin. Unfortunately the program has reached the point where players are seeing themselves as too good for the home school. Something that other sports have had to deal with for years.
Players as small as St. Martin rarely end up being Gophers or lasting as Gophers. OSU with Maltais and Buglioni and Webster in their recent past or Wisconsin with O'Brien and Wheeler have a better track record with undersized players. When was the last time someone 5'4" or under was a key contributor for Minnesota? It was probably Schipper. I'm sure that played into St. Martin's decision.
Undefeated Northfield takes a tumble, losing 4-2 to #4 rated (in class A) Dodge County despite future Ayla Puppe’s 57th goal of the season.
Is it good to average 2.3 goals per game?