Joy Dunne discusses the mentorship she's received with Team USA, and what it means to her to play for her senior national team at the World Championships for the first time at the 2024 tournament in Utica. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1Njg4MzI5Mzk0NDY0Mjg1/joy-dunne-usa-2024.jpg] Only weeks ago, Joy Dunne scored the NCAA national championship winning goal for Ohio State. Days after that game, Dunne found herself in Lake Placid, New York, competing for a final roster spot with Team USA's 2024 World Championship team. She earned a spot, and has since made her USA national team debut at the Worlds, and scored her first career goal. "I honestly do not know how to describe it to anybody, it's just been amazing," Dunne told The Hockey News of her first World Championship. "There's not much words you can put to it. It's been really great, just learning so much..." Dunne was named the NCAA's Rookie of the Year this season after scoring 24 goals and 42 points in 39 games in her first season at Ohio State. The 5-foot-11 power forward is soaking in not only the experience, but from the stars she's watched her entire life including Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight. "There's just so many good people around me, I'm just trying to be a sponge right now basically," she added. Dunne captained USA's U-18 World Championship team in 2023, and has watched USA's senior national team with her sister Jincy playing at multiple World Championships and Olympic tournaments. But being here on the ice as a member of Team USA instead of a fan is a new experience.
