Lynn’s Katie Burt, a freshman at Boston College, will likely draw the start in goal in Team USA?s first game of the2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship tonight in Buffalo.
Team USA will face Canadaat 7p.m. It will be a rematch of last year?s gold-medal game, in Budapest, when Canada beat the U.S, 5-1.
This is Burt?s second consecutive year on the national team. As a 17-year-old last year, Burt started and won two games, including a shutout of tournament host Team Hungary.
The 5-foot-7 inch netminder yielded just one goal in 120 minutes, making 13 saves along the way.
Burt’s numbers on last year?s world stage have carried over into her first season season at BC. She has been the backbone of the Eagles, leading the team to a 17-0-1 overall record (10-0-0 in Hockey East), posting a miniscule 1.30 goals against average in 461.19 minutes, with six shutouts (four individually) and a dazzling .932 save percentage.She leads Hockey East with a 0.65 GAA, .963 save percentage, and a perfect winning percentage.
At the designated half-way point of the season, BC is currently ranked No.1 in the country. Despite being one of the youngest players at the collegiate level, Burt — who will turn 18 on Jan. 26 — is accumulating accolades.
She was named Hockey East rookie of the week on Oct. 27 for her performance in two games against Cornell, totalling 41 saves, allowing four goals as the Eagles won both games by identical scores of 6-2. She has yet to allow more than two goals in any game. On Dec. 15 she was named Hockey East defensive player of the week for her performance in BC?s 6-1 win over Dartmouth on Dec. 10, stopping a career-high 29 shots, helping BC to its 15th straight win, extending the program?s longest winning streak and tying it?s longest unbeaten streak at 18 games.
Prior to the collegiate ranks, Burt starred for the Lynn/Winthrop cooperative high school hockey team as a middle schooler, before joining Buckingham Browne & Nichols in 2011. As a sophomore, she was named co-MVP of the Independent School League (ISL), finishing the season with a 1.57 GAA.
Following Monday’s rematch of last winter’s title game, the United States will play the Czech Republic on Tuesday (7 p.m.) before a tilt with Russia on Thursday (7 p.m.) concludes pool play.
Should the Americans advance, the semifinals will be played on Jan. 11, a day before the gold- and bronze-medal games are decided.
The United States has played in all seven championship games, with wins in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
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