GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWEDEN (NOV. 15)

Semifinal Sunday at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship is upon us, and Canada’s National Women’s Team has a final-four date with Sweden at KVIK Hockey Arena—with the winner playing for gold.

Last Game

Canada booked its place in the semifinals with a 3-2 win over Czechia in its quarterfinal Friday. Sarah Fillier and Rebecca Leslie broke open a scoreless game with goals 2:43 apart early in the second period, and captain Renata Fast added the eventual game-winner late in the middle frame for the Canadians, who outshot Czechia 41-16 but had to survive a late push to advance.

The Swedes secured a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2009 thanks a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Switzerland. Sara Hjalmarsson provided the offence just shy of the 15-minute mark of the second period and Ebba Svensson Träff needed to make just nine saves to record the shutout.

Last Meeting

It was nine days ago that Canada and Sweden opened the Group B schedule in Herning. Jessie Eldridge opened and closed the scoring, Kendall Cooper added a goal and an assist, and the Canadians rode a three-goal first period to a 5-1 victory. Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie had the other goals for Canada, while Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 13 of 14 to record the win between the pipes.

What to Watch

Canada has been locked down defensively at 5-on-5—the only three goals it has allowed in the tournament (one against Sweden, two against Czechia) have come while shorthanded. But the defenders have been just as good at the other end of the rink; the eight blue-liners have all recorded points, combining for 25 points (8-17—25) in five games. The group is led by a pair of five-point performances, from Kendall Cooper (who we highlighted in this space earlier in the tournament) and Chloe Primerano. The 19-year-old North Vancouver native has staked her claim as a future Team Canada cornerstone, posting a goal (her first with Canada’s National Women’s Team) and four assists. But Primerano is far from an international rookie; she finished her U18 career as the all-time leading scorer with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, racking up 37 points (18-19—37) in 21 games, twice winning Best Defender honours at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship and captaining Canada to U18 Women’s Worlds gold in 2025—one year after she was tournament MVP.

Much like the Canadians, Sweden has a young standout defender tearing up the tournament. Just 21 years old, Mira Jungåker set up the lone goal in the quarterfinal win over Switzerland to give her nine points (1-8—9) in five games, putting her second in scoring among blue-liners behind U.S. dynamo Caroline Harvey (14). Jungåker is already appearing in her fifth world championship, having twice played in Women’s Worlds and U18 Women’s Worlds in the same season (2022 and 2023). She burst onto the senior scene in 2022 as a 16-year-old, posting five points (1-4—5) in six games, before earning Best Defender honours at the 2023 U18 Women’s Worlds (right before Primerano went back-to-back). She is in her junior season at Ohio State University, having helped the Buckeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship games. Jungåker was dominant at the college level before leaving for Denmark, posting 19 points (2-17—19) in just 10 games to lead the NCAA in assists and sit tied for fourth in scoring (while pacing all defenders).

A Look Back

While the faceoffs between the foes haven’t been as frequent in recent years, the Canadians and Swedes have a history. This will be the 85th time they have met, dating back to the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990.

Considering the considerable history between the teams, it is somewhat surprising that this will be just the second time they will meet in a Women’s Worlds semifinal. For the first, uou have to go back more than 27 years to the 1999 tournament in Finland, when Nancy Drolet scored twice in a 4-1 Canadian win.

All-time record: Canada leads 81-2-1 (1-1 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 519
Sweden goals: 72

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. CZECHIA (NOV. 13)

It’s on to the playoff round for Canada’s National Women’s Team, which takes on Czechia in the first of four quarterfinals Friday at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Canada closed out a perfect preliminary round Wednesday by blanking Finland 2-0. Ann-Renée Desbiens was terrific in the Canadian goal, making 25 saves to post her team’s third-consecutive shutout—by three different goaltenders. Caitlin Kraemer started the scoring with the eventual game-winner less than four minutes into the first period and Sarah Fillier added insurance in the third.

The Czechs put a bow on their prelims with an 8-1 loss to the United States on Wednesday, their third defeat in four round-robin games. Natalie Mlynkova scored a consolation goal with less than four minutes to go after the Americans had scored the game’s first eight. Aneta Senkova and Daniela Novakova split the goalending duties almost right down the middle, both allowing four goals.

Last Meeting

The Canadians and Czechs clashed in the preliminary round at Milano Cortina 2026, with Canada scoring four times in the first period of a 5-1 win. Julia Gosling led the offence with a pair of goals, while Kristin O’Neill, Fillier and Laura Stacey added singles. Gosling’s goals came on the same two-player advantage---with 1:03 left in the first period and 17 seconds into the second.

At Women’s Worlds, the teams most recently met in the prelims of the last Women’s Worlds, on Czech ice in Ceske Budejovice in 2025. What was a close game after two periods turned into a Canadian runaway in the third as Canada scored five unanswered goals to finish a 7-1 win. O’Neill and Marie-Philip Poulin scored two goals apiece, while Erin Ambrose and Jocelyne Larocque contributed two assists each.

What to Watch

Fillier has returned to the lineup without missing a beat, scoring in both her appearances in the preliminary round after missing the first two games with an upper-body injury suffered in the pre-tournament finale in Plymouth on Oct. 30. No player on the Canadian roster has been more productive at Women’s Worlds—her goal against the Finns gives her 22 goals and 38 points in 37 career games at the tournament, leaving her just three points outside of the top 10 in all-time Canadian scoring at the world championship (she’s coming for you, Vicky Sunohara and Nancy Drolet). She also reached the 50-goal mark with Canada’s National Women’s Team on Wednesday, making her just the 15th player in Team Canada history to get to a half-century. All the Georgetown product does is produce; she finished her NCAA career at Princeton with the fourth-most points in program history, was the first pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft by the New York Sirens, co-led the PWHL in scoring as a rookie and finished tied for fifth last season—her career totals include 52 points (22-30—52) in 59 games played as a pro.

The story for the Czechs going into the tournament focused more on who wasn’t on the roster. The veteran trio of Denisa Krizova, Dominika Laskova and Tereza Vanisova—who have combined for 96 points in 29 Women’s Worlds appearances across all divisions---are absent for a variety of reasons, and head coach Carla MacLeod, who led Czechia to its first-ever world championship medals in 2022 and 2023, has given way to Brian Idalski, the former bench boss of the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The Czechs were goal-starved in the preliminary round, scoring only seven goals in four games—four of them in a tournament-opening victory over Austria. And those seven have come from just four players: Mlynkova, Katerina Mrazova and Linda Vocetkova have two apiece, and Klara Hymlarova has the other. Among players Czechia needs to get going is standout forward Kristyna Kaltounkova; the No. 1 pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft, who had a rookie-best 11 goals in 21 games last season, is without a point in four games and has taken six minor penalties, twice as many as any other player.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Czechs will meet for just the sixth time ever—Canada has won all of the previous five, outscoring Czechia 28-3—and the second in a win-or-go-home matchup.

At the 2024 Women’s Worlds, the Canadians got goals from Larocque, Fillier, Blayre Turnbull and Emily Clark, and held the Czechs to just nine shots on goal in a 4-0 semifinal victory in Utica.

All-time record: Canada leads 5-0
Canada goals: 26
Czechia goals: 3

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (NOV. 11)

Canada’s National Women’s Team goes in search of a perfect preliminary round Wednesday at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship, facing off against Finland in its Group B finale at KVIK Hockey Arena.

Last Game

Canada made it back-to-back shutouts on back-to-backs days Monday, easing to a 10-0 win over host Denmark. Emma Maltais scored twice—the lone Canadian with a multi-goal effort—while Laura Stacey added a goal and two assists to lead an offence that got points from 18 different players. Kayle Osborne needed to make just six saves as the Canada piled up 74 shots on goal, its fourth-highest total ever in a Women’s Worlds game.

The Finns won their second in three tries on Tuesday, pulling away in the final 37 minutes to down Japan 8-2. Emma Nuutinen had a pair of goals, and Emmi Juusela and Sanni Vanhanen contributed a goal and two assists apiece for Finland, which scored the game’s final five goals after the Japanese cut their deficit to one very early in the second period.

Last Meeting

The Canadians and Finns met most recently in the prelims at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan; Emily Clark scored a pair of third-period goals, Kristin O’Neill had a goal and an assist, and Stacey and Julia Gosling recorded two helpers apiece in support of Ann-Renée Desbiens, who earned a 17-save shutout in a 5-0 win for Canada.

At Women’s Worlds, the last clash came in the semifinals of the 2025 tournament, an 8-1 Canadian victory. Daryl Watts scored twice in that one, Claire Thompson had a goal and two assists, and Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse and Danielle Serdachny each finished with a goal and a helper as Canada erased a first-minute deficit and returned to the gold medal game in Ceske Budejovice.

What to Watch

Kendall Cooper has not looked out of place at her first Women’s Worlds. The 24-year-old defender has scored in all three games and added a couple of assists to sit second in tournament scoring for blue-liners, trailing only American standout Caroline Harvey. The hot start has Cooper on the cusp of history; she has already equalled the Canadian record for goals by a defender in a world championship, pulling even with Renata Fast (2024), Meaghan Mikkelson (2011), Delaney Collins (2004), Correne Bredin (2001) and Geraldine Heaney (1999). Offence has never been a problem for the Burlington native, who finished her five-year NCAA career as the all-time leading scorer among defenders with Quinnipiac University (33-82—116 in 158 GP) and tied for the scoring lead among PWHL rookies on the back end last season with Minnesota (2-17—19 in 30 GP). She’ll make the move to the desert for her second pro campaign after she was one of the first two players signed by PWHL Las Vegas.

We’re going to put the spotlight on Jenni Hiirikoski here, if for no other reason than it might be one of the last opportunities to celebrate one of the greatest defenders in the history of the women’s game. While she may no longer be the player she was at her peak—the 39-year-old missed the 2025 Women’s Worlds, was held without a point in five games at Milano Cortina 2026 and has yet to find the scoresheet in Herning—this is a future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee we are talking about. Hiirikoski has been named Best Defender at the world championship on seven occasions (2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), plus twice more at the Olympics (2014, 2018), is a four-time all-star and owns a silver medal and seven bronze across 17 Women’s Worlds appearances. She also remains productive at the club level, recording 419 points (110-309—419) in 345 career games in the Svenska Damhockeyligan (SDHL), the top women’s league in Sweden, and helping Luleå HF to six SDHL championships.

A Look Back

To say the Canadians and Finns have been frequent foes would be a little bit of an understatement; this is the 94th time the teams have faced off in international competition, with Canada owning 90 wins from the first 93 meetings.

Twelve of those 93 have come in the preliminary round at Women’s Worlds, and one came in Herning—in 2022, Canada opened the tournament with a 4-1 win thanks to goals from Nurse, Poulin, Mikkelson and Blayre Turnbull.

All-time record: Canada leads 90-2-1
Canada goals: 482
Finland goals: 116

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. DENMARK (NOV. 9)

Less than 24 hours after finishing off a win over Japan, Canada’s National Women’s Team gets right back to work at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship as it takes on host Denmark in its penultimate preliminary-round matchup.

Last Game

Canada used a full team effort to improve to 2-0 in Group B, getting goals from nine different players and points from 16 (no one recorded more than two) in a 9-0 win on Sunday. Four defenders found the back of the net—Chloe Primerano (with her first National Women’s Team goal), Erin Ambrose, Kendall Cooper and Sophie Jaques—and Ève Gascon turned aside all 14 shots she faced to record her first win and shutout with the national team.

The Danes found the win column for the first time Saturday night, erasing an early two-goal deficit to beat Japan 3-2 in a shootout. Trailing 2-0 after the first period, Nikita Bergmann got Denmark on the board just 47 seconds into the second and Teresa Christensen tied it with 2:56 left in the third. Frederikke Foss provided the shootout winner in the fifth round in support of goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordström, who made 30 saves in regulation and overtime before turning aside four of five Japanese in the shootout.

Last Meeting

You have to back more than four years to find the last time the Canadians and Danes matched up; playing a pre-tournament game in Rødovre ahead of the 2022 Women’s Worlds, Sarah Fillier and Marie-Philip Poulin made history with the seventh and eighth four-goal games in the annals of Canada’s National Women’s Team as part of a 14-1 win. Fillier added two assists for the first six-point game by a Canadian in more than a decade (and the most recent), one of eight players with multi-point performances.

What to Watch

While any Canadian player could have received Player of Game honours in the well-rounded win over Japan, it was Rosalie Tremblay who got the nod—another feather in the cap for the mature-beyond-her-years 18-year-old. Tremblay has had quite a last 12 months; in November 2025, she captained Quebec to its first-ever gold medal at the U18 Women’s National Championship, taking home the Most Valuable Player award after posting six goals and 10 points in six games. Two months later, she helped Canada to silver at the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship with seven points (3-4—7) in six games, and in August she was the youngest member of Canada’s National Women’s Development Team for a three-game series against the U.S., scoring a goal as the Canadians won two of three from the Americans. Now she finds herself in Herning at her first IIHF Women’s World Championship, centring the top line as the youngest to play for Canada at the tournament since Captain Canada herself, Marie-Philip Poulin, at the 2009 Women’s Worlds. Oh, and she hasn’t been too bad as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, scoring six goals in as many games for the perennial powerhouse Badgers.

We could highlight Nordström here after making a combined 85 saves against Finland and Japan, but the goaltender—a 2026 fifth-round draft pick of PWHL Hamilton who turned 24 last Thursday—could be due a night off with the Danes in action again Tuesday against Sweden. Veteran captain Nicoline Jensen, 34, is playing in her 16th Women’s Worlds across all divisions, Josephine Asperup, also 34, is playing in her 15th (leading all players in average ice time with 30:48 across two games), and Silke Glud, 30, is in her 12th (second among forwards with a 22:47 TOI average), but they are outliers—the youth movement is strong for the hosts. Both regulation-time goal scorers against the Japanese are still teenagers—Bergmann is 18 and Christensen is 17—and five others have yet to reach 20. And as far as Canadian content goes? In addition to Nordstrom, Foss is skating with the University of New Brunswick, Christensen with the Ontario Hockey Academy in the OWHA U22 Elite League and Freya Ekberg with Purcell Hockey Academy in Kimberley, B.C.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Danes have met only twice in international competition. In addition to the 2022 exhibition game mentioned above, you have to go all the way back to the 1992 IIHF World Women’s Championship for the other meeting.

Angela James and Andria Hunter paced the offence with two goals each, Geraldine Heaney had three assists and Manon Rheaume—who is part of the Canadian contingent in Herning as an assistant GM—recorded the shutout in a 10-0 win.

All-time record: Canada leads 2-0
Canada goals: 24
Denmark goals: 1

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. JAPAN (NOV. 8)

Looking to build off a tournament-opening win, Canada’s National Women’s Team returns to the ice Sunday at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship, facing off against Japan in its second of four prelim games.

Last Game

Canada started strong in Herning, getting two goals and an assist from Jessie Eldridge as part of a 5-1 win over Sweden on Friday. Kendall Cooper added a goal—her first with Team Canada—and a helper, and Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie (also with her first) rounded out the scoring. The Canadians did most of their damage on the power play, scoring three times on eight times with the player advantage.

The Japanese gave back an early two-goal lead in their opener against host Denmark, falling 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night. Umeka Odaira provided all the offence with a pair of goals in the first period, while Miyuu Misuhara took the loss with 12 saves for Japan, which outshot the Danes 32-15.

Last Meeting

The most recent meeting between the Canadians and Japanese came at the most recent Women’s Worlds; Canada earned a comfortable 9-1 quarterfinal win at the 2025 tournament in Czechia thanks to three-point efforts from a pair of defenders—Claire Thompson (1-2—3) and Renata Fast (0-3—3). Jenn Gardiner and Sarah Fillier added a pair of goals apiece for the Canadians, who outshot Japan 62-6.

What to Watch

Eldridge waited four years to get back to another IIHF Women’s World Championship and she made that return count against the Swedes. The Barrie native—whose only other Women’s Worlds was also in Denmark—has already improved on her scoring totals from that 2022 tournament, when she posted a goal and an assist in seven games to help Canada win gold. A PWHL nomad, Eldridge will suit up for her fourth team in four seasons when the puck drops on the 2026-27 campaign after signing with the Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire in the offseason. She finished last season—which she split between Seattle and Boston—as the second-leading Canadian scorer in the league, posting 14 goals and 23 points to finish in the top 10 of PWHL scoring for the second year in a row. Eldridge has actually scored all six of her National Women’s Team goals in Denmark—in addition to two goals Friday and one at the 2022 Women’s Worlds, she found the back of the net three times in two pre-tournament wins in 2022, scoring twice in a victory over the host Danes and netting the game-winner against the United States.

While the Canadians are icing one of their youngest lineups in more than a decade, the Japanese are YOUNG. Of the 23 players on the roster, only one—veteran defender Aoi Shiga (on July 4, 1999)—was born before the turn of the millenium. Odaira, the scoring star against Denmark, is the youngest of the bunch; she won’t turn 18 until Dec. 12, although she is far from an international rookie. She had nine points (4-5—9) in five games to help Japan win gold at the 2024 U18 Women’s Worlds 1A tournament just weeks after turning 15, and made her Women’s Worlds debut in Czechia in 2025, going pointless in five games. Already committed to the University of Maine for next season, Odaira is plying her trade in the OWHA U22 Elite League in Ontario this year, contributing eight goals and 12 points with the North York Storm.

A Look Back

This will be meeting No. 10 between Canada and Japan going all the way back to the inaugural Women’s Worlds in Ottawa in 1990. The Canadians have never lost to the Japanese and had held them without a goal until their quarterfinal meeting 19 months ago in Ceske Budejovice.

That first meeting 36 years ago produced a historic offensive output: Canada scored nine times in the first period of an 18-0 win—both of those are still Women’s Worlds records for most goals in a period and game. In all, 15 Canadians recorded points, led by hat tricks from Vicky Sunohara and Angela James, a four-point efforts from James (3-1—4), Heather Ginzel (2-2—4), Stacy Wilson (1-3—4) and Diane Michaud (0-4—4).

All-time record: Canada leads 9-0
Canada goals: 105
Japan goals: 1

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWEDEN (NOV. 6)

Let’s go! The IIHF Women’s World Championship has made the move to a new slot in the international hockey calendar and the 2026 edition of the tournament gets underway Friday as Canada’s National Women’s Team opens Group B play against Sweden.

Last Game

Canada finished with a split of its two-game pre-tournament series against the United States with a 4-0 loss to the Americans last Friday in Plymouth, Michigan. Ève Gascon was terrific in a 28-save performance, but the Canadian offence couldn’t build on a 5-3 win over the U.S. in the exhibition opener in Windsor.

Sweden closed out the Lidl Hockey Games with a 2-0 win over rival Finland in Södertälje on Halloween. Mira Hallin broke open a scoreless game late in the second period and Sara Hjalmarsson added insurance midway through the third in support of Ebba Svensson Träff, who posted a 29-save shutout as the Finns outshot the Swedes 29-18.

Last Meeting

The Canadians and Swedes last clashed in the quarterfinals at the 2024 Women’s Worlds in New York, a 5-1 win for Canada. Renata Fast led the charge with a pair of goals and 11 different players recorded points for the Canadians, who held Sweden to just nine shots on goal over the final 40 minutes.

What to Watch

The kids have arrived for Canada. With an average age of 26 years, two months and 22 days, this is the youngest roster Canada has iced at Women’s Worlds since 2013, with more than 1,000 games of international experience gone from the Olympic roster last February. How young are we talking? Of the nine youngest players to represent Canada in the history of the IIHF Women’s World Championship, three are debuting in Denmark—Rosalie Tremblay (fourth-youngest), Hayley McDonald (eighth-youngest) and Sara Manness (ninth-youngest). The oldest player on the roster is 32-year-old goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who earned her 46th career victory in the win over the U.S. in Windsor, surpassing Charline Labonté for the third-most in Team Canada history—only Kim St-Pierre (64) and Shannon Szabados (51) have more. And let’s not forget co-captains Renata Fast and Laura Stacey, who bring a combined 261 games of international experience (81 of them at Women’s Worlds) to the lineup. There are plenty of possibilities for new head coach Kori Cheverie, who takes the reins at her first world championship after serving as an assistant under Troy Ryan at five Women’s Worlds from 2021-25.

Sweden burst back onto the international scene in at Milano Cortina 2026, reaching the semifinals at a major event for the first time since the 2014 Olympics and coming agonizingly close to its first medal since the 2007 Women’s Worlds, falling in overtime to Switzerland. Thea Johansson (4-3—7) and Hilda Svensson (1-6—7) both finished in the top 10 of Olympic scoring, and the Scandinavians have a bit of a youth movement of their own—five players (Hallin, Hedqvist, Jungaker, Raunio, Svensson) helped Sweden to its best-ever finish at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, a silver medal in 2023, and 18-year-old Tilde Grillfors had seven points (4-3—7) in six games as the Swedes reached the bronze medal game at the 2026 U18 Women’s Worlds in Nova Scotia. And let’s not forget the experience behind the bench; new head coach Erika Holst was a staple of the Swedish lineup for almost two decades, appearing in four Olympics (including a silver medal at Torino 2006) and 11 Women’s Worlds between 1996 and 2012, and serving as national team captain from 2001-12.

A Look Back

While the faceoffs between the foes haven’t been as frequent in recent years, the Canadians and Swedes have a history. This will be the 84th time they have met, dating back to the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990.

The last three meetings have all come in quarterfinals at the world championship, including one in Herning; at the 2022 Women’s Worlds, Jocelyne Larocque, Sarah Potomak and Erin Ambrose provided the offence, Desbiens made nine saves for the shutout and Canada advanced with a 3-0 win.

All-time record: Canada leads 80-2-1 (1-1 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 514
Sweden goals: 71

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. UNITED STATES (APRIL 20)

It all comes down to this. Canada’s National Women's Team faces off against the United States on Sunday in the gold medal game at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Canada scored four goals in 1:58 late in the second period to down Finland 8-1 in the semifinals Saturday. The Finns opened the scoring just 46 seconds into the game, but Erin Ambrose responded quickly and Marie-Philip Poulin added a record-breaking goal as the game-winner before the end of the first period. Fifteen players registered at least a point in the game, with Claire Thompson leading the way with her second-straight three-point performance (1-2—3) and Daryl Watts scoring a pair of goals. Ann-Renée Desbiens had 19 saves to record her 22nd Women’s Worlds win—the most of any goaltender in tournament history.

The U.S. earned its spot in the gold medal game with a narrow 2-1 win over Czechia. After the hosts scored the lone goal of the first period, Laila Edwards tied the game on a power play in the middle frame and Kelly Pannek notched the game-winning goal midway through the third to keep the Americans’ streak of appearing in every Women’s Worlds intact—24 for 24.

Last Meeting

Always the marquee matchup of the preliminary round, Canada dropped a 2-1 decision to the United States last Sunday. The Americans held a 2-0 lead after two periods before Laura Stacey scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half seven minutes into the third. Desbiens made 26 saves in goal.

What to Watch

Jocelyne Larocque is set to become the first defender to reach 200 career games with Canada’s National Women’s Team. The 36-year-old has been a cornerstone of the Canadian blue line for over a decade and will become the fifth player to reach the milestone, following Poulin earlier in the tournament. In addition to her typical standout play on the defensive side, Larocque has three assists and is +5 heading into the gold medal game. On offence, Poulin continues to lead the way with four goals and seven assists in six games, putting her atop the tournament scoring list. The 34-year-old has found tremendous chemistry with Victoire de Montréal teammates Jenn Gardiner and Laura Stacey; the trio has combined for 11 goals and 27 points in six games and are a combined +31.

The Americans have gone with a scoring-by-committee approach, getting at least four points from six different players (Carpenter, Janecke, Keller, Knight, Murphy, Pannek). Hilary Knight continues to play at a high level in her 15th Women’s Worlds; the U.S. captain came into the tournament as the all-time leader in goals (67) and points (119), and became the all-time assist leader on April 15, passing the legendary Hayley Wickenheiser and her 49 assists to now sit at 52. Pannek is leading the way offensively for the Americans with four goals and eight points in six games.

Milestone Watch

Poulin may have taken over from Hayley Wickenheiser as Canada’s all-time points leader at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, but Captain Canada still has a couple of milestones on her mind. She needs two more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer and one more assist to take over from Wickenheiser atop that category.

A Look Back

It’s Chapter 192 in the story of Canada vs. United States, with the Canadians in search of win No. 109 in the rivalry.

This Women’s Worlds in Czechia marks the 11th different country to have hosted the North American rivals (in order of countries played in: Canada, Finland, United States, Japan, Sweden, Italy, China, Russia, South Korea, Denmark and Czechia).

All-time record: Canada leads 108-82-1 (25-21 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 530
United States goals: 467

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (APRIL 19)

It’s Semifinal Saturday at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, with Canada’s National Women's Team set to take on Finland in its final four faceoff at Budvar Arena.

Last Game

Canada punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 9-1 win over Japan in its quarterfinal Thursday. Jenn Gardiner and Sarah Fillier scored two goals apiece to pace the offence for the Canadians, who piled up 62 shots on goal. Claire Thompson added a goal and two assists, Renata Fast had three helpers, and 14 skaters recorded at least a point. Included in that list was Marie-Philip Poulin; the captain celebrated her 200th international game with her 86th point at Women’s Worlds, pulling even with Hayley Wickenheiser for the most by a Canadian in tournament history.

The Finns survived their Nordic neighbours in their quarterfinal, edging Sweden 3-2 in the first game of the day Thursday. Jennina Nylund and Ronja Savolainen scored in the first period and Susana Tapani netted the winner midway through the second after the Swedes had battled back, assuring Finland a place in the medal games for the second year in a row and 22nd time in 24 Women’s Worlds dating back to the inaugural event in 1990.

Last Meeting

Canada and Finland met last Thursday in the Canadians’ prelim opener, a 5-0 win. Gardiner scored a pair of goals, Poulin had a goal and an assist and Kristen Campbell was perfect in her first-ever Women’s Worlds start, making 24 saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

Gardiner has been a revelation for the Canadians, leading the tournament with five goals in as many games (and sitting in a four-way tie for second with seven points) despite coming into the tournament with just four games of National Women’s Team experience (and only 14 across all three levels of the Team Canada women’s program). And it doesn’t seem to matter where head coach Troy Ryan plugs the Surrey, B.C., native into the lineup – she opened the tournament with a pair of goals on the top line with Poulin and Laura Stacey, and struck twice on the fourth unit alongside Kristin O’Neill and Emma Maltais against the Japanese. Gardiner is no stranger to filling the net; she averaged more than a point per game across her final three NCAA seasons with Ohio State University and won a pair of national championships with the Buckeyes, and those offensive skills have transferred pretty well to the pro grame; Gardiner is second in PWHL rookie scoring with 16 points (4-12—16) in 27 games, trailing only Fillier.

Finland misses Jenni Hiirikoski. Seven times the Top Defender at Women’s Worlds, the tournament’s all-time leader in games played (96) and the Finns’ heart-and-soul captain, Hiirikoski is absent from the lineup for the first time since 2003 due to a mysterious illness that has kept her sidelined for all but four games since January. With the future Hall of Famer missing, Savolainen has done the heavy lifting on the Finnish blue-line, scoring three of her team’s 10 goals and averaging more than 21 minutes per game. Finland will also need its goaltenders to step up. The trio of Sanni Ahola, Anni Keisala and Emilia Kyrkko have all made appearances thus far, but have combined for a tournament-low .870 save percentage.

Milestone Watch

Poulin has a couple of milestones on her mind. Captain Canada needs three more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and two more assists and one more point to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Ann-Renée Desbiens needs just one victory to surpass Swiss icon Florence Schelling and become the winningest goaltender in Women’s Worlds history (22).

A Look Back

The head-to-head history sways decisively to the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean, with Canada owning 88 wins and a tie in 91 all-time meetings with Finland.

This will be the 14th time the Canadians and Finns will face off in a semifinal at Women’s Worlds; the 12th and most recent victory for Canada came in 2017 in Michigan, when Poulin had a goal and an assist and Shannon Szabados posted a 23-save shutout in a 4-0 win.

All-time record: Canada leads 88-2-1
Canada goals: 469
Finland goals: 115

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. JAPAN (APRIL 17)

It’s on to the playoff round for Canada’s National Women's Team, which faces off against Japan in quarterfinal action Thursday at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Canada closed its preliminary-round schedule Monday with a 7-1 win over host Czechia that locked up second place in Group A. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead after two periods before they exploded for five in the final frame, including three in a span of 58 seconds. Kristin O’Neill added a pair of goals of her own, Erin Ambrose celebrated her 100th international game with a pair of assists and Sophie Jaques got her first Team Canada goal to round out the scoring.

The Japanese clinched second place in Group B with a narrow 1-0 win over Germany in their prelim finale Tuesday. Miyuu Masuhara was terrific in a 34-save shutout performance, including 17 in the third period as the Germans pushed for the equalizer. Rui Ukita netted the lone goal early in the second for Japan.

Last Meeting

Canada and Japan clashed in the preliminary round at the 2023 Women’s Worlds in Brampton, where the Canadians earned a 5-0 win. Sarah Fillier led the offence with two goals and an assist as Canada jumped on the Japanese early with 26 shots in the first period (and finished with a 60-11 advantage overall). Sarah Nurse added a goal and an assist, and Emerance Maschmeyer turned aside all 11 shots she faced for the shutout.

What to Watch

Entering this tournament, three members of the Team Canada roster were still in search of their first international goal – all of them defenders. Micah Zandee-Hart got off the schneid first, scoring against Switzerland (in her 69th game!) and Jaques put herself on the scoresheet against the Czechs. That just leaves Chloe Primerano. The 18-year-old – the third-youngest player to appear for Canada at Women’s Worlds – has acquitted herself nicely thus far, averaging 13:31 of ice time per game across three prelim games. She put herself squarely on the international radar with her epic shootout winner against the U.S. in the Rivalry Series in November, but is still in search of her official maiden marker. Primerano is no stranger to Team Canada goals – she scored 18 in 21 games with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, the second-most in U18 program history.

The Japanese are as disciplined a team as you will ever see. In their four preliminary-round games, Japan took only two penalties, allowed just a single power play and has gone more than 136 minutes without being whistled for an infraction. Their goaltending has also been terrific, with Masuhara playing every second of the prelims and fashioning a 1.01 goals-against average and .965 save percentage while making the second-most saves of any netminder (110).

Milestone Watch

Poulin is set to become just the fourth player to reach 200 games played with Canada’s National Women’s Team, but that’s not the only milestone on her mind. Captain Canada needs three more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and three more assists and two more points to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Ann-Renée Desbiens needs just one victory to surpass Swiss icon Florence Schelling and become the winningest goaltender in Women’s Worlds history (22).

A Look Back

Canada has been nothing short of dominant in eight all-time meetings with Japan, winning all eight, averaging 12 goals a game and not allowing a single goal.

The most goals Canada has ever scored in an international game is 18, which it has done three times – twice against Japan. Angela James and Vicky Sunohara had hat tricks in an 18-0 victory at the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990, and Wickenheiser and France St-Louis contributed three-goal efforts to an 18-0 win at the 1996 Pacific Rim Championship.

All-time record: Canada leads 8-0
Canada goals: 96
Japan goals: 0

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. CZECHIA (APRIL 14)

After a loss against the United States yesterday, Canada’s National Women's Team returns to the ice on Monday to face host Czechia in the final game of the preliminary round at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Always the marquee matchup of the preliminary round, Canada dropped a 2-1 decision to the United States for its first loss of the tournament. The Americans held a 2-0 lead after two periods before Laura Stacey scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 26 saves in goal.

The Czechs dropped their second game in Group A on Saturday, losing 4-2 to Finland. Tereza Vanisova gave Czechia a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, but Finland responded with four unanswered goals before Kristyna Kaltounkova scored with just over two minutes remaining. Klara Peslarova made 24 saves.

Last Meeting

Canada and Czechia last met in the 2024 Women’s Worlds semifinals, with the Canadians blanking the Czechs 4-0 on their way to a 13th gold medal. Blayre Turnbull kicked off the scoring 4:32 into the game, with Jocelyne Larocque giving Canada a 2-0 lead after the first period. Emily Clark and Sarah Fillier rounded out the scoring, while Ann-Renée Desbiens made nine saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

Line chemistry in short international tournaments is important, and the Canadians have the benefit of utilizing the Montréal Victoire’s top line on an international stage. Jenn Gardiner, Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey are the top three scorers for the first-place Victoire, combining for31 goals and 59 points. In three games in Ceske Budejovice, all three are top-10 in scoring and have combined for five goals and 14 points with a combined +17. Poulin has a goal and five assists, putting her atop the tournament scoring list and within shouting distance of a trio of all-time scoring records (more on that below).

The Czechs have some young talent emerging this season. Natalie Mlynkova—Chloe Primerano’s teammate at the University of Minnesota—notched 16 goals and 34 points in her fifth NCAA season, while 18-year-old Adela Sapovalivova recorded 15 goals and 36 points with MoDo in the Swedish women’s league. Kristyna Kaltounkova is making her debut on the senior team after becoming the first Czech player to be named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award and leads the Czechs in the tournament with two goals.

Milestone Watch

Poulin has a few major marks in her sights. She needs five more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and three more assists and four more points to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Desbiens is even with Swiss netminder Florence Schelling for the most in Women’s Worlds history (21).

And keep an eye on a few more games-played milestones on the blue line; Erin Ambrose is set to reach 100 appearances in her Team Canada career when she takes the ice today, while Jocelyne Larocque is four shy of becoming the first defender to reach 200 games.

A Look Back

These two teams have a relatively new history at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. They have only met three times— once in Brampton in 2023 and twice at last year’s championship.

All-time record: Canada leads 3-0-0
Canada goals: 14
Czechia goals: 1