Abbotsford’s Hailey MacLeod is a gold medallist.
The former Yale Secondary student and her Team Canada teammates defeated the United States 3-2 on Monday (June 13) to win the 2022 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship.
MacLeod dressed as the team’s back-up goalie on Monday, but did make two appearances for the team during the tournament. She’s the first-ever Abbotsford women’s hockey player to achieve this feat. She told The News she will never forget the feeling of victory.
Championship celly! 🇨🇦🏆 #U18Worlds | @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/EP6HhuHi1w
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 14, 2022
“It feels amazing,” she said. “We all came together when it counted and there is no other group I’d rather share this with. I will remember this for the rest of my life.”
Canada’s run didn’t come without its challenges though. The team went 1-2 in the preliminary stage and had to earn the gold medal by going on a run, which they ultimately did. MacLeod was named the player of the game in an opening tournament 2-0 loss to Finland on June 6. Canada also lost 7-0 to the United States on June 10. But after that loss Canada beat Slovakia and Finland to fight their way into the gold medal game.
🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇#U18Worlds | @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/KGJrhFgQOL
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 14, 2022
RELATED: Abbotsford’s Hailey MacLeod, Team Canada advance to semifinals of IIHF U18s
“We did not get the start we wanted and had a couple of rough games against Finland and the States,” she said. “But we were able to bounce back and push through the adversity. In the end that almost felt necessary in order to wake us up and come together as a team to get the job done.”
MacLeod admitted that her performance against the United States didn’t go as she envisioned, but that she is taking away the positives from the experience. She also believes that playing for Canada will help her and her teammates grow as people and players moving forward.
“This was such an invaluable experience for us,” she said. “We were extremely humbled by the Americans but we didn’t let it discourage us. We all dug deep and found the gold medal team we knew we could be, it’s still surreal.”
She said her coaches at the University of Minnesota Duluth were watching along and stated they were proud of her play. She will be joining that program in the fall. MacLeod said she believes this experience will help her in Minnesota and as her career in between the pipes continues.
“I am extremely excited to be a Bulldog for the next four years,” she said.
MacLeod added that the gold medal and her jersey from the win will be framed and hung in her bedroom.
For complete results from the event, visit hockeycanada.ca.
FINAL | Ava Murphy finished with a goal and an assist, Jocelyn Amos scored the winner and 🇨🇦 captured its 6th gold medal with a 3-2 win over 🇺🇸.
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 14, 2022
RECAP ⏩ https://t.co/qQ1RJM2FEw
#U18Worlds | @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/vHSDH1ZfKS
