Shannon Coulter
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND (JAN. 10)
Canada’s National Women's Under-18 Team starts defence of its gold medal on home ice as it faces off against Switzerland to open the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre on Saturday night.
Last Game
Canada had a pre-tournament tune-up in Halifax, shutting out Finland 11-0 on Wednesday. Hayley McDonald led the way with a hat trick and an assist on her birthday, while Sofia Ismael and Rachel Piggott chipped in with a goal and two assists each. Overall, eight players scored as Canada piled up 57 shots on goal, with Léa-Rose Charrois making three saves in the opening 40 minutes before Rowan Houweling entered the game to make five saves and secure the combined shutout.
Switzerland played its lone pre-tournament game at Cape Breton University in Sydney on Tuesday night, falling 2-1 to Sweden in overtime. Jill Baker scored the lone goal for the Swiss, who were outshot 37-17.
Last Meeting
These two teams last met in the preliminary round of last year’s tournament in Finland, with Canada beating Switzerland 5-1. Dorothy Copetti led the charge with a pair of goals as the Canadians took control with a four-goal second period. Sara Manness scored and added an assist, while Maxine Cimoroni chipped in with two helpers.
What to Watch
Nine players who won gold in Finland last year are back to play for Team Canada (Ismael, Alida Korte, Anaïs Leprohon, Maddie McCullough, McDonald, Piggott, Caileigh Tiller, Rosalie Tremblay and Kate Viel), which is tied with the 2024 team for the most returnees in a single year. And the bulk of that group weren’t fringe contributors to gold a year ago in Vantaa; Tiller—who will play with her twin sister Chelsea in Cape Breton—finished tied for second in Canadian scoring with 10 points (4-6—10) and scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game, McDonald, who will wear the ‘C’, had seven points (4-3—7) and Viel chipped in five (1-4—5) from the back end. And not to look too far ahead, but Canada could have as many as seven players back for the 2027 tournament.
Laure Meriguet is set to become the 23rd player to appear in four U18 Women’s Worlds—and the 13th from Switzerland. The defender was a minute-muncher last year, playing 25:44 a game—second-most among all players behind only teammate Sonja Inkamp—to help the Swiss to a fifth-place finish—their best-ever placement at the tournament. Meriguet recorded a goal and an assist in four games in 2025. The 17-year-old also made her IIHF Women’s World Championship debut last spring, tallying an assist in six games. And she has more international duty on tap for February—Meriguet was named to the Swiss women’s Olympic team on Wednesday.
A Pod of Dolphins
For the second year in a row, there are six members of the Etobicoke Dolphins U22 Elite team representing Canada: Ismael, McCullough, Adrianna Milani, Megan Mossey, Piggott and Maija St-Pierre. Since the inaugural U18 Women’s Worlds in 2008, no team has been represented more than Etobicoke, with 31 players on Team Canada in tournament history. This is the seventh consecutive tournament that a Dolphin has competed at the tournament (2019-2026), two off the all-time record of nine (Mississauga, 2011-2019).
A Look Back
This is only the sixth meeting between the Canadians and Swiss, and the fifth to come in the prelims. Canada is perfect through the first five, outscoring Switzerland 49-4.
The first matchup came at the 2009 tournament in Germany; Casandra Langan made history in that one, becoming the first Canadian to score four goals in a game as part of a 16-1 win. Jamie Lee Rattray added a hat trick of her own, while Jessica Wong chipped in with two goals and an assist.
All-time record: Canada leads 5-0 Canada goals: 49 Switzerland goals: 4