Vegas Girls Hockey Team Wins Second National Title in 3 Years

Ten years ago, girls hockey barely existed in Las Vegas. This week, a group of young women stood as two-time national champions.

The Vegas Jr. Golden Knights girls 16U team won the USA Hockey National Championship in Missouri on March 29th, beating the Lady Cyclones 1-0. They swept all six games in the tournament, a feat that requires equal parts skill, stamina, and heart.

Twelve players on this year's squad also won the national title two years ago at age 14. The experience showed as they dominated the tournament, outscoring opponents while their defense held strong.

Goaltender Ruby Olde delivered a performance for the ages. She stopped all 23 shots in the championship game and recorded four shutouts across the tournament, allowing just two goals total.

"For each game, I went into it with a mentality of pure dominance," Olde said. Her focus never wavered, even with two seconds left in the final game when she made a diving save that preserved the win.

Kalie Kizanis scored the only goal in the championship, finding the net 4:18 into the second period. She described watching the water bottle fly off the net in slow motion, an unforgettable moment now etched in her memory forever.

But Kizanis credits Olde as the real hero. "Anyone could have scored the goal I scored, but no one else could have played in net as Ruby did," she said.

The Ripple Effect

Head coach Gordie Mark sees something deeper than hockey success. He hopes these young women carry the lessons of teamwork, resilience, and sisterhood far beyond the rink into their adult lives.

The Vegas Golden Knights organization has transformed youth hockey in Las Vegas since arriving in 2014, creating equal opportunities where almost none existed before. Now these athletes are proof of what becomes possible when young people get the chance to chase their dreams.

Assistant coach Kate Glover, a Harvard hockey alum, notes that these 16-year-olds are old enough to own their development but still play for pure love of the game. That combination creates something special, the kind of team chemistry that can't be taught or bought.

Two national titles in three years represents more than athletic achievement for these young women.