Read our introduction to and explanation about this tournament here.
Read our Group B preview here.
United States
I admit I'm surprised how many Senior National Team regulars on this roster. As much as the US and Canada are several paces ahead of other countries in development, they both really sort of lose track of players after U18s and college if that player is not already in the senior national team pool. There are some exceptions to this, but generally a player has to already be on their radar. They both heavily rely on the NCAA to develop players.
All of which is to say that this is a really unique opportunity to see collegiate players in a tournament situation instead of just one or two games against Canada over the summer and I'm surprised the folks at USA Hockey didn't want to use more of the roster for players they aren't very familiar with. Instead, there are 10 players on this roster that won silver at the 2024 World Championships in Utica in April.
Of the 15 remaining players on the roster, 10 played in one IIHF U18 Women's World Championships while three (Bergmann, Hall, Zanon) each played in two. Both Sloane Matthews and Skylar Irving had no experience with USA Hockey before being named to the 2024 Collegiate Series team in August.
Wisconsin and Ohio State are the top two teams in the NCAA right now. Six of the nine top scorers in the country on the US roster (O'Brien, Edwards, Harvey, Simms, Murphy and Janecke). Jordyn Petrie has already had a breakout season as a rookie for the Buckeyes and we're only in December. This is an absolutely stacked collegiate roster and because so many of them play together either in college or on the senior national team, they should have a pretty seamless transition to playing together here. The November Rivalry Series showed us the benefit of having players well into their season already and I expect something similar here.
This is a very, very offensively gifted defense. Expect a lot of shots from the blue line, a lot of cheating into space and a lot of puck movement.
| # | F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | D | Caroline Harvey | Wisconsin |
| 6 | D | Rory Guilday | Cornell |
| 7 | F | Lacey Eden | Wisconsin |
| 8 | D | Haley Winn | Clarkson |
| 9 | F | Kirsten Simms | Wisconsin |
| 10 | D | Laila Edwards | Wisconsin |
| 11 | F | Emma Gentry | St. Cloud State |
| 12 | F | Jordyn Petrie | Ohio State |
| 15 | F | Cassie Hall | Wisconsin |
| 17 | F | Kiara Zanon | Ohio State |
| 18 | F | Skylar Irving | Northeastern |
| 19 | D | Emma Peschel | Ohio State |
| 20 | F | Sloane Matthews | Ohio State |
| 22 | F | Tessa Janecke | Penn State |
| 24 | F | Joy Dunne | Ohio State |
| 25 | F | Peyton Hemp | University of Minnesota |
| 28 | D | Laney Potter | Wisconsin |
| 29 | G | Amanda Thiele | Ohio State |
| 31 | G | Ava McNaughton | Wisconsin |
| 32 | F | Casey O'Brien | Wisconsin |
| 35 | G | Annelies Bergmann | Cornell |
| 36 | D | Grace Dwyer | Cornell |
| 37 | F | Abbey Murphy | University of Minnesota |
| 39 | F | Ella Huber | University of Minnesota |
| 43 | D | Sydney Morrow | University of Minnesota |
Finland
While much of this roster is comprised of women who played for Finland at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championships, there are also players like Elli Suoranta, who played for the U18 squad in 2019 and 2020, but had not appeared for her country until the WEHT. Oona Havana played in the 2020 and 2022 U18 World Championships, but has not yet cracked the senior roster for a major tournament.
Finland has the advantage in goaltending. Sanni Ahola has been a standout for them for what feels like forever that it feels impossible she's still in college. Her counterpart Emilia Kyrkkö is also her teammate at St. Cloud State and has emerged as a spectacular goalie in her rookie season. It's difficult to stand out against Ahola and she's managed to do it.
Three of the top four goal-scorers in the SDHL (Swedish league) are on this team (Nieminen, Holopainen, Nylund). Viivi Vainikka joins Nieminen and Halopainen as three of the top four points scorers in the league.
Emma Ekoluoma was one of the standout players at the 2024 U18 World Championships. She tallied a hat trick against Czechia in Finland's opening game and ended the tournament tied for second in scoring (with Czechia's Adéla Šapovalivová) and second in goals (with Canada's Chloe Primerano) and was named to the Media All-Star Team. I'm excited to see her play at this higher level.
Minnesota teammates Krista Parkkonen and Nelli Laitinen bring an extra dimension to the blue line for Team Finland. Laitinen is at her best when she's actively involved and getting engaged in the offensive play.
| F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Sanni Ahola | St. Cloud State |
| 5 | D | Siiri Yrjölä | St. Cloud State |
| 7 | D | Sanni Rantala | Frölunda HC |
| 8 | D | Tuuli Tallinen | Team Kuortane |
| 9 | D | Nelli Laitinen | University of Minnesota |
| 10 | F | Elisa Holopainen | Frölunda HC |
| 11 | D | Oona Koukkula | Brynäs IF |
| 12 | F | Sanni Vanhanen | Brynäs IF (Ohio State commit) |
| 14 | D | Krista Parkkonen | University of Minnesota |
| 15 | F | Oona Havana | Vermont |
| 16 | F | Petra Nieminen | Luleå HF |
| 18 | F | Jenniina Nylund | Brynäs IF |
| 19 | F | Sofia Nuutinen | Mercyhurst |
| 22 | F | Julia Schalin | Skellefteå AIK |
| 24 | F | Viivi Vainikka | Luleå HF |
| 25 | D | Elli Suoranta | Ilves Tampere |
| 26 | F | Pauliina Salonen | HIFK Helsinki |
| 27 | F | Emma Ekoluoma | Ilves |
| 28 | F | Jenna Pirttijärvi | Skellefteå AIK |
| 30 | G | Emilia Kyrkkö | St. Cloud State |
| 32 | F | Emilia Vesa | Frölunda HC |
| 34 | F | Sofiana Sundelin | St. Cloud State |
Switzerland
Lara Stalder was on the Swiss roster for the previous stop on the tour, but is not on the announced roster for Tampere. With Alina Müller, Ivana Wey, and Noemi Ryhner out due to injuries, this is as thin a Swiss team as we've seen in some time. They've won just one game in the WEHT so far and their chances of improving that record are a lot slimmer without the four players mentioned above.
They do bring in another tried and tested goalie duo in former Ohio State and Boston University goalie Andrea Brändli and former St. Thomas goalie Saskia Maurer. They both have experience in college and at the international level facing high shot totals and helping to keep their team in the game. They're going to be called on a lot here and if Switzerland is going to hang with the US and Finland, they'll need great performances in net.
There has been a push in the last few years to improve the level of play in the Swiss women's league, but that's a work in progress and simply put, these players do not regularly play at the same level as those playing in Sweden or North America. That nearly the entire roster plays at home may be good in the long run in working towards development, it does not serve the national team well for being prepared to match up with the other teams in this tournament.
Rahel Enzler is the highest scoring Swiss player in that league - she's seventh overall with 9 goals and 21 assists. Sinja Leemann sits 11th in the league with 11 goals and 14 points.
| # | F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | D | Annic Büchi | EV Zug |
| 5 | D | Lucie Tenenbaum | HC Davos |
| 8 | F | Kaleigh Quennec | SC Bern |
| 9 | D | Shannon Sigrist | ZSC Lions |
| 11 | F | Laura Zimmermann | St. Cloud State |
| 12 | F | Lisa Rüedi | ZSC Lions |
| 16 | D | Nicole Vallario | University of St Thomas |
| 17 | D | Lara Christen | SC Bern |
| 18 | D | Stefanie Wetli | HC Davos |
| 19 | F | Emma Ingold | SC Bern |
| 20 | G | Andrea Brändli | MoDo Hockey |
| 21 | F | Rahel Enzler | EV Zug |
| 22 | F | Sinja Leemann | ZSC Lions |
| 28 | F | Alina Marti | ZSC Lions |
| 29 | G | Saskia Maurer | SC Bern |
| 53 | F | Vanessa Schaefer | University of British Columbia |
| 58 | D | Alizée Aymon | SC Bern |
| 68 | F | Leoni Balzer | HC Davos |
| 71 | F | Lena Marie Lutz | EV Zug |
| 82 | D | Alessia Baechler | HC Davos |
| 94 | D | Alena Lynn Rossel | SC Bern |
| F | Mara Frey | ZSC Lions |
Group A schedule
Wednesday, 12/11
USA vs. Finland - 12 PM Eastern
Thursday, 12/12
USA vs. Switzerland - 8 AM Eastern
Friday, 12/13
Switzerland vs. Finland - 12 PM Eastern
Saturday, 12/14
Quarterfinals - TBD, but likely as below
A3 vs. B3 - 4:30 AM Eastern
A1 vs B2 or B1 vs. A2 (whichever matchup does not have Finland in it) 8 AM Eastern
A1 vs B2 or B1 vs. A2 (whichever matchup has Finland in it) - 12 PM Eastern
Sunday, 12/15
A3 vs. B3 - 4:30 AM Eastern
3rd place game - 8 AM Eastern
Championship game - 12 PM Eastern
(Photo: Nicole Haase)
