The story of the 2008 women’s national team has very little to do with hockey in Colorado. Other than the fact that they stayed for a week at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and practiced at the Air Force Academy, there are no ties at all.

Nonetheless, this story transcends state lines.

The U.S. national team traveled to China at the beginning of April and embarked on an uphill battle of capturing gold in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship.

It’s not that the women’s team isn’t competitive because they are very much considered amongst the elite in international hockey. The problem is that they must face Canada each time. In past years (with one exception) the U.S. has gotten accustomed to finishing second behind their northern counterparts but finally things changed.

“It’s not just Canada at the top anymore,” said Michelle Amidon, the Director of Women’s Hockey Operations at USA Hockey.

Not only did Team USA beat Canada once, but they beat them twice on their trek to gold. It should be noted that no team had won two games in three days against the same team. The team finished the championships 4-0-1 en route to their second championship title in three years.

"We're extremely proud of our team and the way they performed throughout the entire tournament," said head coach Jackie Barto to USA Hockey. “We also had exceptional leadership from our veterans; their experience was very helpful in this team reaching its goal of winning the gold medal."

That’s a great sign for this team considering in the years to come, most people are expecting the U.S. to continue to improve.

“Things are changing, we’re building and we’re growing,” said Amidon. “Next year we will be stronger, more consistent.”