Jan. 18—BEMIDJI — Bailey Rupp will return to Bemidji in gold-medal fashion.

The Bemidji High School girls hockey standout junior forward won the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship on Sunday in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Americans beat Canada 2-0 in the gold-medal game.

Rupp played in four games, recording a goal and an assist against Finland in pool play. She finished the tournament with an on-ice rating of plus-2.

The U.S. won the tournament for the 10th time. It’s the first gold since 2024.

The Americans never trailed in the tournament. They beat Slovakia 13-0, Czechia 9-1 and Finland 14-0 in pool play. The U.S. beat Hungary 9-0 in the quarterfinals before getting the better of Sweden 9-1 in the semifinals.

Rupp missed the first two games in the tournament due to illness.

Rupp is having an impressive junior season with BHS. She has 29 goals and 15 assists in 14 games. She’s committed to play for Minnesota Duluth in 2027-28.