CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — 21 players with ties to ECAC Hockey helped their respective nations to the podium at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, Ontario, on Sunday. For the first time since 2019, the United States claimed an international gold medal with a 6-3 victory over Canada, while Czechia topped Switzerland for back-to-back bronze medals.
The Americans were powered by exceptional performances from the blue line by active defenders Haley Winn (Clarkson) and Rory Guilday (Cornell). In her first appearance with the senior team in IIHF play, Winn finished the tournament with five assists, including two in the preliminary round against Japan and one in the Americans’ 9-1 defeat of Czechia in the semifinals. Guilday also finished the tournament with one assist and more than 119 minutes of ice time.
Alumni Savannah Harmon (Clarkson ‘18) and Becca Gilmore (Harvard ‘22) also contributed to the gold medal win, with Gilmore scoring her first goal at the senior Women’s Worlds in the Americans’ 9-1 defeat of Switzerland in the preliminary round.
Additionally, assistant coaches Josh Sciba and Brent Hill both coach at ECAC instituions; Sciba just wrapped up his seventh year as head coach at Union, while Hill has been an assistant coach at Quinnipiac for two years.
On the other side of the ice, Canadian forward Brianne Jenner (Cornell ‘15) scored twice and added an assist to lead Team Canada in points during the gold medal game. Alongside her were active players Sarah Fillier (Princeton) and Danielle Serdachny (Colgate), the latter of whom made her senior debut at Women’s Worlds. Fillier was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring seven goals and adding four assists for 11 points, finishing fifth overall in scoring. Both Fillier and defender Renata Fast (Clarkson ‘16) were named to the Media All-Star Team.
Alumni Erin Ambrose (Clarkson ‘16), Jaime Bourbonnais (Cornell ‘20), Rebecca Johnston (Cornell ‘12), Emerance Maschmeyer (Harvard ‘20), Kristin O’Neill (Cornell ‘20), Jamie Lee Rattray (Clarkson ‘14), Ella Shelton (Clarkson ‘20), Laura Stacey (Dartmouth ‘16), Claire Thompson (Princeton ‘20) and Micah Zandee-Hart (Cornell ‘20) also earned silver alongside their aforementioned teammates.
Alena Mills (Brown ‘13) captained Czechia to back-to-back bronze medal finishes, defeating the Swiss for the second year in a row to again claim their highest ever finish at the top division of Women’s Worlds. Noemi Neubauerová (Colgate ‘22) and Michaela Pejzlová (Clarkson ‘20). Neubauerová and Pejzlová both finished the tournament with three points and Mills with two.
The ECAC was also represented in the tournament by Hungarian defenders Sarah Knee (Cornell ‘18) and Lotti Odnoga (Dartmouth ‘22) and by German players Tabea Botthof (Yale) and Nina Christof (Rensselaer). Despite a valiant effort and a win over France, Hungary was relegated and will compete in the Division I A Women’s World Championship next season.
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