Winter Olympics: 5 reasons Team USA’s Women’s team is unstoppable

Team USA’s women’s hockey team is primed to steal the show at the 2018 Winter Olympics

The NHL not allowing their players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics changes a lot of things. Probably the biggest change will be the focus put on women’s hockey. Usually, when females are on the ice, people don’t pay attention. That, by the way, is wrong. Much like Team USA’s women’s soccer team, their women’s hockey team has been far more successful in recent years than their male counterparts. But, just like them, they get less respect.

Things will be different in South Korea. They won’t be trotting out the Dream Team, but it will be a team extremely hard to beat. Team USA will be bringing home the gold medal. Here are five reasons why.

1. Revenge

Nothing serves a greater motivator in sports than defeat. It’s a cliche, but it’s also true. America hasn’t won the gold medal in women’s hockey since 1998. They came darn close in 2014, but wound up losing to Canada.

Many members of this year’s team are ready to get some revenge on Canada. And facing them isn’t something America will be afraid to do. They know they’re capable of beating Canada, having done so in three consecutive World Championships. Whether or not Team USA will beat them is uncertain. But at the very least, they are without question the best-equipped team to remove the back-to-back gold medalists from their throne. And the women’s team knows that.

2. Brand New Blue Line

In 2014, the United States women’s hockey team had one last run with a great group of defensemen. The transition has been painful at times, but entering the 2018 Olympics, Team USA has a very young and talented blue line. Gisele Marvin (listed as a forward on this year’s roster), alternate captain Kacey Bellamy, and Lee Stecklein (who was just 19 years old in 2014) are the lone holdovers from the Sochi squad.

Though Cayla Barnes is just 19, she’s been arguably Team USA’s most efficient defenseman in exhibition games. So expect her to get significant playing time in South Korea. She, along with Boston College teammates Megan Keller and Kali Flanagan, should give the United States a dynamic defensive core, something they lacked in 2014.