Setauket's Trivigno on world title team

Happy belated birthday.

One day after turning 17, Setauket native Dana Trivigno and USA Hockey's 18-and-under team defeated Canada, 5-2, to take the title in the World Women's Under 18 Championship in Stockholm.

Yesterday's win was the second title for Trivigno, a forward who also won with the 16-and-under team in 2010. Team USA built a 3-0 lead midway through the second period and never looked back.

"It was great. It doesn't even matter that I didn't get an actual present this year," Trivigno said. "I wasn't even thinking it was my birthday."

While most girls her age might be asking for Iphones, DVDs or music for their birthday, Trivigno just wanted to beat the Czech Republic. And after a gift-wrapped 14-1 win on Friday, Team USA was in the finals for the fourth consecutive season.

Skating on a big stage is anything but intimidating for Trivigno, who's played with the big boys her whole life. For real.

Because of the lack of competitive girls hockey on Long Island, she tried out for the LI Royals, a club her father coached that had an all-male roster. Strike that - formerly all-male roster.

"I knew I had to get into boys hockey if I wanted to take it to the next level," said Trivigno, who played with the Royals from age 9 to 14. "It was definitely hard being the one different person, just being a girl on a guys team or even a girl in a guys sport. When there's no one else like you, it's difficult. But at the same time you keep pushing to get better."

That competition forced Trivigno to step up her own preparations.

"It definitely kept me honest," she said. "They're bigger, stronger, faster. In order to keep up I had to work that extra bit, and that's something that still carries over."

But eventually the physicality of playing boy's hockey led to safety concerns.

"There was a point where the boys started to get really big and there was a chance of me getting hurt, so we started looking at prep schools," she said.

The search led to Shattuck-St. Mary's, a prep-school in Minnesota formerly attended by Sidney Crosby and renowned for its youth hockey programs. Now a junior there, she's developed, in her words, into a "hard working forward. More defensive, but I can make offensive plays. I'm a passer. Playmaker."

Now, just a day after her birthday, she's a champion, too.