DMITROV, Russia – Forward Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) has been named captain of the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
In addition, Gracie Ostertag (Shakopee, Minn.), Dominique Petrie (Beverly Hills, Calif.) and Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn.) were tabbed alternate captains.
“Taylor is a real positive and encouraging teammate that has great passion for representing the U.S. on the international stage,” said Joel Johnson, head coach of the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team. “All four of these players bring great experience as a leadership group and have a positive influence on this team both on and off the ice.”
Heise helped the U.S. earn gold medals at both the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship in Zlin and Prerov, Czech Republic, and the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario. The Lake City, Minnesota, native most recently captained the 2017 U.S. Under-18 Women’s Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada last August in Lake Placid, New York.
Ostertag, Petrie and Wethington were all part of the gold medal-winning 2017 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team, while Ostertag and Wethington also helped the 2016 U.S. squad earn gold in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Team USA is set to compete at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, which runs Jan. 6-13 in Dmitrov, Russia. The U.S. opens the competition vs. Sweden on Saturday (Jan. 6) at 11:30 a.m. ET.
For complete coverage of the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team, click here.
2018 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship • Team USA Schedule
Jan. 6-13 – Ice Palace – Dmitrov, Russia
Date Opponent/Round Time (Local/ET)
Sat., Jan. 6 Sweden 7:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.
Sun., Jan. 7 Russia 3:30 p.m./7:30 a.m.
Tues., Jan. 9 Canada 3:30 p.m./7:30 a.m.
Wed., Jan. 10 Quarterfinals TBD
Fri., Jan. 12 Semifinals TBD
Sat., Jan. 13 Bronze-Medal Game 3:30 p.m./7:30 a.m.
Gold-Medal Game 7:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.
NOTES: Reagan Carey (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey’s director of women’s hockey, is the general manager of the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team … Joining Johnson as an associate coach is Maura Crowell (Mansfield, Mass.), head women’s ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth, while Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass.), associate head women’s ice hockey coach at Boston College, is serving as an assistant coach … Team USA has played in the gold-medal game in all 10 of the previous IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships, capturing the event’s top prize six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017). The U.S. holds an all-time record of 41-4-3-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in 50 games at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan(Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. teams that compete internationally.
