Emily Brown has been busy in January.

The Blaine junior is one of a few high school hockey players who can say they played eight games in two countries in the span of 15 days.

Brown was a member of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that won the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, from Jan. 8-15. 

Brown, who joined Team USA on Jan. 1, has played in three games for the Bengals since returning home six days ago, but the defenseman has already added three points to her season total, including a power-play goal in Blaine's 6-0 victory over Stillwater Thursday night at Fogerty Arena.

“It was a bit challenging coming back at first,” said Brown, who has five goals and 21 assists on the season for the No. 7-ranked Bengals. “It takes a couple shifts to adjust to the speed and the players, but I’m glad to be back.”

Brown scored midway through the second period in the game against the Ponies.

She made a quick reaction stop to halt a puck Stillwater was attempting to clear, then rocketed a slap shot in the net for an unassisted goal that gave Blaine a 3-0 lead. 

Bengals coach Steve Guider said Brown plays a major role for the team.

She not only keeps the puck out of the Blaine's zone, but also is a leader who sparks energy and excitement.

In November, Brown said making the U18 team would mean everything to her.

After accomplishing her goal, she said the experience lived up to her expectations. Team USA defended its IIHF U18 championship title by rallying from a two-goal deficit to beat Canada 3-2 in overtime.

“There couldn’t be anything better than beating Canada in overtime for the gold medal at their own rink,” Brown said.

Brown said she will forever remember what it was like to throw her gloves in the air and jump on the pile with her teammates in celebration after winning the gold medal. She also said standing behind an illuminated Niagara Falls at night during the tournament's opening ceremony was another highlight of the trip.

Looking ahead, Brown is excited to face Minnetonka's Presley Norby, who was a teammate on the U18 team, in Blaine’s final game of the season.

Guider is just relieved to have Brown back.

“I didn’t know it’d be that big of a difference (having Brown gone),” Guider said. “I knew we’d miss her as an athlete, but as a captain and leader, I didn’t think we’d miss her as much as we did.” 

First Report

Junior goalie Morgan Cin made 18 saves and recorded her fifth shutout of the season as Blaine defeated Stillwater 6-0 in a nonconference matchup at Fogerty Arena on Thursday night.

Both teams kept the puck moving fast early in the game, but Cin and Ponies senior goalie Caitlin Carter denied shot after shot as the first period ended in a scoreless draw.

The Bengals, ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A coaches' poll, dominated on offense in the second period.

Three minutes into the second, Carter dove to her left to stop a shot and Blaine sophomore forward Abby Jones redirected the puck right, sending it into the net.

Minutes later, junior forward Paige Beebe scored to secure a two-goal lead for the Bengals, who ended the second period leading 3-0 after junior defenseman Emily Brown launched a slap shot past Carter for an unassisted goal.

Freshman forward Ramsey Parent had two goals in the third. Her second score pushed the Blaine (19-3-0) advantage to 6-0.

Beebe and sophomore forward Gabby Rosenthal eached finished the night with two assists.

Stillwater (7-13-2) had a puck appear to cross the goal line in the final minute of the second period, but officials waved it off. That would be the last solid scoring chance for the Ponies, who struggled to overcome penalties late in the third period.  

Carter finished the night with 28 saves. 

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