Hilary Knight lives for moments like this.

“It’s something special to represent your country,” said Knight, following a practice with the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey National Team.

The 34-year-old forward has one of the greatest resumes in the sport’s history. She's a four-time Olympian with a gold and three silver medals, to go along with countless World Championships.

“Whenever your number is called, you get out there and do what you can to try and put the puck into the back of the net,” Knight said.

Now back for her 14th IIHF World Championship, Knight is still hungry for more. She is serving as captain for Team USA for the second consecutive year.

“Wearing a patch or not, that’s sort of our core culture item that everyone is doing what they can to lead this team and steer it in the right direction,” she said.

That kind of focus is what Knight and the U.S. are bringing to Utica as they defend its gold medal this month. And they understand everything will have to be earned all again.

“Every time you enter a tournament, the game score is zero-zero and you have to work yourself through the tournament and make sure you set yourself for a great position at the end of the tournament,” Knight said.

Most of the 25 players on this roster are coming into the tournament pretty sharp as they are in the middle of the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League season. Knight has spent the last few months with Boston scoring four goals and three assists in 19 games.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to be able to skate at this pace, and just the decision-making is a lot faster,” she said. “It’s a lot more fun.”

With the World Championship back on U.S. soil, Knight says this is a pivotal moment for them capitalize on all the recent success.

“Hockey is just a game about minimizing risks and probably solving on the fly, and that’s something if we’re in a successful position at the end of the tournament, we’ve done really well,” Knight said.