Jason La Rose
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SLOVAKIA (JAN. 4)
The quest for an eighth gold medal at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship begins Saturday as Canada’s National Women's Under-18 Team opens the 2025 tournament against Slovakia at Tikkurila Arena.
Last Game
Canada warmed up for the world championship with a 7-0 win over host Finland in pre-tournament action on New Year’s Day. Stryker Zablocki led the offence with two goals and an assist, Kate Manness and Sofia Ismael chipped in with one of each, and Marilou Grenier (14 saves) and Amelia Wilkinson (three saves) combined for the shutout.
The Slovaks were last in action on Dec. 15, closing out the Four Nations Tournament in Füssen, Germany, with a 3-2 loss to Hungary. Blanka Bereczkiova and Vanessa Eibenova scored the goals for Slovakia, which was four minutes away from a tournament title before the Hungarians rallied late.
Last Meeting
Canada and Slovakia have met just once, a quarterfinal matchup at the 2022 U18 Women’s Worlds. Balanced scoring was the name of the game in Wisconsin; seven different players scored goals and 14 recorded points in a 7-0 Canadian win. Four players – Madison Chantler, Ava Murphy, Karel Préfontaine and Mckenna Van Gelder – produced a goal and an assist each, and Mari Pietersen needed to make just five saves for the shutout.
What to Watch
Two words: Chloe Primerano. The 18-year-old (she turned 18 on Thursday) introduced herself to the hockey world with a beautiful shootout winner to help Canada’s National Women’s Team win Game 2 of the Rivalry Series in November, and now Primerano turns her attention back to her continued assault on the Team Canada record book at the U18 level. Already the highest-scoring defender in National Women’s Under-18 Team history, her assist in the pre-tournament win leaves her only eight points behind Caitlin Kraemer for the all-time scoring mark, and seven helpers behind Erin Ambrose. The North Vancouver, B.C., product also needs 11 points to surpass Marie-Philip Poulin as Canada’s all-time leading scorer at U18 Women’s Worlds (she led the tournament with 16 points in 2024). She’s also only three points from becoming the leading scorer among defenders in tournament history, trailing only Brigette Lacquette and Jincy Dunne.
The Slovaks have a phenom of their own in Nela Lopusanova, who is back for her third appearance at the U18 Women’s Worlds. She burst onto the scene as a 14-year-old in 2023, winning MVP honours with a tournament-leading 12 points (9-3—12) in five games, including a ‘Michigan’ goal. Most recently, she dominated at the Olympic qualifying tournament on home ice in Piestany in mid-December; Lopusanova helped Slovakia reach the final qualifying tournament after posting 18 points – 11 of them goals – in just three games, highlighted by four-goal games in wins over Kazakhstan and Slovenia. A University of Wisconsin commit for the 2026-27 season, Lopusanova is plying her trade this season with Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, New York, where she’s a teammate of Canadian forward Stryker Zablocki. Oh, and she is still eligible for one more U18 tournament in 2026.
A Look Back
Not much more to talk about than what we mentioned above – one game, one win.
All-time record: Canada leads 1-0 Canada goals: 7 Slovakia goals: 0