Utah hockey players draw inspiration from historic women’s gold medal moment
Feb 23, 2018, 11:02 PM | Updated: Apr 17, 2023, 4:02 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – It has become one of the most memorable moments of the PyeongChang Winter Games: US Woman’s Hockey Team winning gold for the first time in 20 years. The moment was especially meaningful for athletes on the Copper Hills Hockey team who played for their own gold Friday night.
Jordyn Baker, Emily Hilman, and Cierra Fradsen are the only girls on the team of 17 boys.
“We all kind of band together, because we are the only three girls on an all-boys team,” Baker said.
The girls are part of an undefeated team who has had 16 wins, no losses and one tie going into the Division 2 Affiliated State Championship Game at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex Friday night. After a tough fight, their team beat Bingham High’s hockey team 9-6.
They said they drew inspiration from the USA vs. Canada women’s hockey game Wednesday night.
“It was just empowering to see a team of ladies just coming out, dominating and just knowing they can do the same thing everyone else can do,” Hilman said.
The girls said they related their trails to those of Team USA who went up against all the odds.
“It inspires me to be aggressive,” Baker said. “It’s made me a lot more of a team player and makes me understand people a little bit more.”
The team has a little break before the start of spring camp in March and training in April. Their season will start back up again in September.
