Stillwater senior wins gold in third IIHF World Championships appearance
STILLWATER, Minn. — Josie St. Martin was Team USA's Swiss army knife — doing it all and winning gold at the U18 World Championships in Zurich.
"It's really cool that I finally won gold after being on the team for a couple years," said St. Martin.
The Stillwater senior was the youngest and a rare sophomore on the World Championship team two years ago. Last year, they once again failed to win.
"I could tell she felt that she could have done more," said Stillwater's head coach Annie Cashman. "One thing that was awesome to see was that throughout the build-up to the tournament, her coaching staff was very involved with us."
The third time was the charm. St. Martin scored six goals in the six-game tournament.
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"This year was, I would say, the most fun I've had. The most fun two weeks," said St. Martin. "Switzerland was awesome. The team was awesome and we just ended on the highest note, winning gold."
Stillwater hasn't been to State since Josie was a freshman. They play in a tough hockey section. As one of the best players in Minnesota, St. Martin wants to win at home.
"I really take pride in growing up in Stillwater," she said. "All I remember as a little kid is going all around this town from skating on the outdoor rinks, to seeing hockey day Minnesota, playing that with my U10 team."
Coming off a world title and being thrust into the home stretch of the high school season, the intensity does not drop off.
"I joked with Josie, you just took on the world, the section shouldn't be too tough, right? But obviously, they're pretty good," said Cashman.
"Really motivated," said St. Martin about how she wants to finish her high school career. "It's a dream getting to the Minnesota state tournament. Everyone on every team wants to be there. But this team has been thinking about it all season and we're going to do everything we can to get there."