When Maggie Scannell returned to the Shattuck-St. Mary’s campus after spending two weeks in Zug, Switzerland, competing at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, she was greeted by classmates and teachers eager to congratulate her on her gold-medal accomplishment.
They were quick to offer hugs and high fives as they showed her group photos of them watching Scannell and her U.S. teammates win a ninth title with a 5-1 victory over Czechia in the gold-medal game.
“There was just so much love and support from everyone,” the 17-year-old senior said. “It’s amazing being back at Shattuck. It’s such a special place and I’m so grateful for all my teachers, classmates, dorm moms, everyone in my Shattuck family, especially for Coach [Gordie] Stafford and Coach [Brianna] Decker for their endless support. They make Shattuck feel like home. I’m so blessed to be here.”
She was also greeted by something else—all the schoolwork she missed during her time away.
“I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with almost all my teachers and go through the work that I missed,” Scannell added. “They’ve been so great in helping me get back up to speed with classes and everything. I’m just so grateful for that.”
That’s the way it is when you’re on the fast track to stardom. There’s never enough time to bask in the spotlight of one on-ice success before it’s time to focus on the next challenge. For Scannell and her Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammates, that means preparing to defend their title at the upcoming Chipotle-USA Hockey National Championships in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
“I’m so excited to go to Nationals with my team,” she said. “We’re continuing to grow as a team each day, and we want to build on our success from last year. We just look at each game as a new opportunity to grow as a team and move forward, shift by shift and keep playing our way.”
Helping Shattuck win what would be the 15th national title at the Girls’ Tier I level would be a fitting end to what has been an amazing year for the Wynantskill, N.Y., native. From spending time in the summer skating at USA Hockey Player Development Camps to competing in her third World Championship, with a full season at Shattuck sandwiched in between, Scannell feels like she’s just getting started. She loves being on the ice and spends any time she has working on taking her game to the next level.
It’s something her coaches have noticed, including Decker who took a break from her assistant coaching duties at Shattuck to serve in a similar role with the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team.
“Maggie wants to get better, and she strives to work on something every day. I’ll tell her, ‘I think you need to work on this,’ and sure enough, the next morning she’s out there at 6:20 already trying to get a half hour of extra skills in,” said Decker, who spent four years at Shattuck before embarking on a decorated career with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“The best part is it all translates to games and her hard work pays off in certain situations. She had a great three years of U-18s. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in college.”
Being able to compete in three IIHF World Championships offered Scannell a unique perspective on what it takes to be successful at the international level. Her first event in 2022 garnered her a silver medal. Last year, the Americans were upset by Sweden in the semifinals before rallying to earn a bronze medal. With this year’s victory, Scannell now has a medal of each color proudly displayed back home in her bedroom.
“I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to be with this team for three years,” said Scannell, who will attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall. “Having silver and bronze has definitely helped me understand what it takes to be successful in this kind of tournament. And just knowing now that it’s all about the team and recognizing our roles and coming together as a unit.”
As one of only two players on the roster to compete in three tournaments, Scannell was named as the team captain, a role she admirably filled on and off the ice. Having been through the highs and lows of international competition, she managed to keep her teammates focused on the task at hand, especially after watching their rivals from Canada fall to Czechia in the semifinals.
“My strength is being able to help everyone recognize the importance of their roles and the strength that we had together as a group playing our way and just bringing everyone together,” said Scannell, who tied for the team lead with nine points.
“These teams are all so talented. It’s really great to see women’s hockey like this, where any team can win on any given day. We knew that we would win if we showed up. I’m really glad that we all played our way and things wound up how they did.”