A recap of the action from January 11, 2025, Day 5 of the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Vantaa, Finland.

Semifinals

All four quarterfinal games were far less competitive than we might have hoped them to be, which made the back and forth, tight action of the semifinals even more exciting.

USA 2, Sweden 1

After holding the zone for much of the opening minutes, the US took two consecutive penalties. They managed to kill both, but at that point the momentum swung to the Swedes and the Americans struggled to get back to their game. When they did get the puck in the zone, they spent a lot of time chasing the puck behind the net.

The teams went into the locker room tied, but USA was able to capitalize on the power play early in the second. At this point it comes as no surprise that the player pushing through traffic and finding the loose puck in the crease was Bella Fanale. She poked in a loose puck through Maja Helge's legs to make it a 1-0 game.

Sweden took advantage of their next power play to tie the game 1-1 when Lovisa Engström staked some space in front of Morgan Stickney and got her stick out to redirect a pass from Tilde Grillfors inside the far post.

After getting a gritty goal, Fanale showed off her vision, carrying the puck behind the net and circling the zone before finding space and sniping a cross-body shot from just to the right of the slot to make it a 2-1 game.

The US caught a break at the end of the second as Sweden caught them on the line change and had all of their players heading into the zone with no one between them and Stickney. The referee blew the whistle for offside, though replays showed that wasn't the right call. It wasn't the first or last time the officials made themselves known in this game.

While it was a one-goal win in the end, the Americans really stifled Sweden after taking the lead. The Swedes did not register a shot in the third period as the US killed time in long fights for possession along the boards. Sweden pulled Helge and still couldn't get a shot in on net. The US were called for a penalty in the final minute, but Sweden did not let the Americans touch up and then sent the puck into the zone, where the US protected it, but did not touch it, wasting valuable time where Sweden could have had an extra attacker. They'd also pulled the goalie, so were at a two player advantage.

The refs did try to influence the game once more, this time calling icing on Team USA while they were on the penalty kill (hint: that's not illegal on the power play), but time eventually ticked to zero and the Americans skated away with a 2-1 win.

What We Learned:

• Grind it out – It wasn't necessarily clear during the game what the US was trying to accomplish with so much high-low play and ringing the puck around the boards, particularly with Sweden's size and how often they came away from the boards with the puck, but USA coach Liz Keady Norton said post game that they wanted to keep Sweden pinned in their own end, work for offensive opportunities from those plays, not get caught out on the change, slow the pace of the game and generally grind Sweden down. With their ability to pick off pucks and get in passing lanes, even when Sweden did come off the board with the puck, they often didn't get very far. Norton has long said that no one is going to outwork her team and this was an interesting way to approach this game. There were certainly flashes of the explosive offensive talent on this team, but instead of letting the game turn into a shootout, the US staff put faith in their players and in goalie Morgan Stickney to be able to hold out to a tight game.
• Sweden success – It's so telling about the steps that have been taken with women's hockey in Sweden that last year's fifth-place finish got under the players' and staffs' skin and that losing this semifinal was a let down. There was no point where this team did not believe that they should be playing in - and winning - this game.

Standout Performances:

• USA F Bella Fanale –  I've talked about her a lot here, we've asked Liz Keady Norton about her a few times and Bella has handled post game duties as a captain and in all honesty I went into today determined to highlight some other players. But then Fanale scored the US' only two goals and just dominated on all bits of the ice and it seems silly to not highlight her just because she's been great. I've said it already this week, but what a tournament for her. I'm not sure it's fair to call it a coming out party, but she took center stage here and really showed out. You always knew when she was on the ice. Big time players get better in high-pressure situations and with this being her third U18 tournament, she had the experience and temperament to not let the moment get too big. That's something coaches preach and players repeat, but is way easier said than done. Fanale took the moment and met it, first scoring from right in front of the net, hitting at a loose puck until it was in the back of the net and then reading the ice, making the right choice and scoring a top shelf beauty. It's that combination of grit and talented flair that makes her so good.
• Sweden D Ebba Westerlind – The Sweden defense did work throughout this game. Westerlind used her size well in all the fights along the boards and came away with the puck more than once. But she was also really great in transition and was always looking to get pucks to the net. I really like how she uses her size while not drawing penalties and how it's clear that she's a defender first, but can quickly switch mentality and push on offense. Sweden has to find a way to score more goals overall and they would do well to start with what they can generate from the blue line, starting with Westerlind

Quotable:

"For us it was getting pucks deep and getting to work. The more we hemmed them in, the more the momentum went our way. Sweden is a really hard working team and they have a lot of depth. For us, it was win the change game and capitalize when we could." - USA coach Liz Keady Norton

"A lot of grinding it out and being willing to make the next play to survive and advance until we could capitalize." - Norton

"She's someone that I can put out there and know that I'm going to get her absolute best effort every time. She'll put the logo before the ego any day. I think that's what makes her a special player." - Norton

"What an opportunity for some growth and development in terms of that piece of the game." - Norton, tactfully discussing the officiating at the end of the game, including an icing called on the US while they were on the penalty kill.

"We chose this group. I'm really proud of this group. Let's give the doubters a show." - Norton

"We talked before the game to be very compact, skate a lot, and be very physical in front of the net. I think we did a good job." - Sweden coach Anders Karlsson

"Maja Helge can take the rebounds if we take away their sticks." - Karlsson

"We created chances to score but we did not do it." - Karlsson

"Bella was making a lot of smart plays and she just sniped" - USA D Emma Cerutti

"I think we did a good job of getting it deep and then just working hard on the forecheck to have the first touch." - Cerutti

"In the end it's about who wants it more and we obviously wanted it more." - Cerutti

"Our power play has had a lo of success. Me and Evelyn (Doyle) we poke at those in the net front. I was screening the goalie and I saw the puck loose and I think it went through her five hole." - USA F Bella Fanale on her first goal

"I was climbing up the wall debating on passing it or not, but I saw the defender drift over so I took a step and shot the puck. It went through a few people and went in. I was definitely aiming top left. I was drifting right, so I was trying to shoot across." - Fanale on her second goal

"That's something we talked about between the 1st and 2nd. I feel like there were a lot of shots on net where we could have crashed he net more and cleaned up those rebounds. The Sweden girls did a really good job clearing the puck but I think we could have gotten better opportunities at the net if we could been there and crash the net and stick there for those rebounds. It's something we need to do better next game." - Fanale

"First year and the second year, it was harder to go in calm. You get nervous and you get anxious in high pressure moments. Today I told myself before the game, 'It's just like every other game. I've played this game so many times. Just go in there and be calm.' I know my teammates are going to look to me for that reassurance." - Fanale

Canada 4, Czechia 2

Despite both semifinal matchups having some history, it felt like this one was the most charged. Czechia came out and immediately pushed at Canada as though they wanted to prove from the start that last year's win was not a fluke.

They killed a penalty midway through the first and then captain Linda Vocetková put her team ahead 1-0 with a gorgeous shot from above the circles that cleared traffic in the middle of the ice and found the back of the net. But Czechia couldn't seem to stay out of penalty trouble.

Their penalty kill was outstanding, as was goalie Daniela Nováková, but the odds aren't in your favor when you give Canada four power plays and on the fourth, five minutes into the second, Sofia Ismael cashed in. She was losing her footing in the high slot, but still managed to shoot across her body. The puck hit Nováková high on the shoulder and popped up and over her into the net.

That seemed to shake any residual rust off Canada and the ice started to tilt their way. Stryker Zablocki took the tournament lead in goals scored and tied for total points when she crashed in wide of the net, put on the breaks to cut the defender and then just dragged Nováková across the goal mouth until there was a place to put the puck, giving Canada the 2-1 lead.

It turns out going hard to the net might be a worthwhile plan, since minutes later Calleigh Tiller tipped in a pass from the boards from Zablocki right at the net front. Tiller completed the play, but it built on an outlet pass up the boards from Chloe Primerano to Zablocki, who grabbed it in stride and used her speed to take off into the zone before finding Tiller at the net front.

That goal felt like it might be the death knell, as it came right after Czechia failed to convert on a power play. Instead, Julie Jebousková scored just 80 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game and put Czechia in a good position heading into the third.

Czechia hung with Canada for quite awhile, but with the lead, Canada got more disciplined and while Czechia could win possession, they couldn't do much with it. Canada swarmed them before they even got to the neutral zone and they rarely moved the puck into the offensive zone. If they got that far, the Czech player was usually all alone as their teammates did a line change and by then Canada had taken the puck and headed the other way.

As Czechia tried to find a way to advance the puck, Hayley McDonald scored on the power play as the puck once again hit Nováková high and ended up in the back of the net. Ironically, after the game Canada coach Vicky Sunohara said the directive to her team was to shoot low so that Nováková could not keep eyes on the puck. But when you're doing well, everything seems to bounce your way and the puck luck was with Canada on the shots that deflected off Nováková and into the net.

What We Learned:

• The Czechia way – It may have been possible to dismiss Czechia's semifinal win over Canada last year as a fluke, particularly with the high-flying top offensive line that led the Czechs. But Saturday's performance showed that they are clearly one of the top four teams in the World and Tereza Sadilová's hope of sustained success is continuing to come true. I wrote about Sadilová and Czechia's focus on women's hockey at the 2024 Women's World Championships and it's clear that growth and success on the women's side of their federation have gone hand in hand at all levels. It's not as simple as coaches or a GM and it may not be the recipe for success for everyone, but Czechia sure has shown what's possible with commitment and investment. This U18 team wasn't full of familiar names, but they have spent a few years in this unified system and were able to step into the roles and roster spots available and made sure we know their names now.
• Go to the net – There has never been a more Keep It Simple Sweetie hockey mantra than going to the net. Canada has seemed to have a tendency for overthinking and trying too hard, so it's a good lesson for this team that their go-ahead and ultimately game-winning goals came minutes apart on plays where they went hard to the net. Both goals came courtesy of Stryker Zablocki's speed and skating and there has to be a lesson here for this team to do what they know and play to their strengths.
• Crash course – USA and Canada U18s play each other as part of summer national team programming, but that was months ago. They didn't face each other in the opening rounds and they haven't faced each other in a gold medal game since the rescheduled tournament in the June of 2022. Both teams have had some superstars emerge this tournament and some of them will even play together in college, but at the moment this is Canada's hope for revenge.

Standout Performances:

• Czechia D Adéla Fromová  – After the game, Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský said Fromová might be the best player on his team. He mentioned that she put in a lot of work in the past year in the weight room and on conditioning and that she'd improved so much that he could see her having earned an invite to the senior national team camp. She did a lot of the small stuff, but if there's one thing that's indicative of both her play and that of this Czech team, she dove to block a shot on the empty net with seconds left on the clock to keep the score at 4-2.
• Canada F Stryker Zablocki – Similar to Bella Fanale, just because Zablocki is an obvious choice doesn't mean she's the wrong choice. Canada was a little in a rut and not really finding their groove in this game. Enter Zablocki using her speed to fly down the ice, her control to put on the breaks and her puck handling to quickly tuck around a defender and get in on net. The scouting report said to get goalie Daniela Nováková moving laterally, so Zablocki skated across the face of the net, forcing Nováková out of her comfort zone. The patience Zablocki had to wait for her opening and the skill to create that opening were so impressive.

Quotable:

"We knew they were going to come out strong and play physical, play fast. After we got some of the nerves out, we were able to settle in and play our game." - Canada coach Vicky Sunohara

"Facing adversity was really good for us. I'm really proud of the team for sticking together." - Sunohara

​"We knew they had a great goalie, a big goalie, and we were taking some shots she was seeing and that gave her confidence. We knew we had to get in front of her." - Sunohara

"She'll stop what we can see, so we tried to get in there. There were a lot of rebounds and we had to outwork them, for sure." - Sunohara

"With her speed, there's not many that can turn and keep up with her and she can attack the net." - Sunohara on Zablocki

"When we attack the net and keep it low, we have some better opportunities." - Sunohara

"You saw in this tournament, there wer ea lot of shots and not that many goals. The goalies are really good so you have to do your best to get in and cause some trouble in front of their net and rely on winning those net-front battles and banging in ugly goals because they all count." - Sunohara

"I think a gold medal would be nice, that's the most important thing." - Canada captain Chloe Primerano after being asked about setting more records

"We went down at the start but we didn't give up. I'm super proud of this team that we were able to stick it out and get the win. We played super well as a team." - Primerano

"We definitely had a chip on our shoulder and we were super excited for this game. We didn't want to have the same result as last year." - Primerano

"We saw progress every day of the tournament, and the team took a huge step up. I told the girls that it feels good to win the last game of the tournament and that's what we'll go for tomorrow." - Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský

"They left everything they can on the ice. It was amazing to see that. We believed but it wasn't enough because the opponent was better. We have to say it. (Canada) deserve the credit." - Andrašovský

"Day by day we are better and better. We are stronger. The players are better at receiving feedback. I'm proud of this huge step and I believe tomorrow we'll be happy." - Andrašovský

Relegation Game

Slovakia 5, Japan 1

For the first time, it was clear what the scouting reports said for Slovakia based on their play. The team looked calm and collected and like they knew how to go out and execute. They stretched the zone, moving the puck more along the blue line and around the perimeter, keeping away from the tightly-packed middle.

And it was pretty much immediately effective as eight minutes in, Liana Tomaštíková ripped a shot from the left faceoff dot, picking out the far top corner to beat Haruka Kuromaru and give Slovakia a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the game, Bianka Kostková took a pass along the top of the zone from fellow blueliner Bianka Masláková and let rip with a shot through traffic to make it 2-0 Slovakia. It was the first Slovakia goal of the tournament that Nela Lopušanová did not register a point on and maybe she took that personally, because a few minutes later she picked up the puck in the defensive end and drove the length of the ice, weaving around a defender and popping the puck past the goalie to make it 3-0.

Two minutes after that, Lenka Karkošková had a little hesitation and shot from the high slot that beat Kuromaru to make it 4-0 heading into the second intermission.

Meanwhile, Japan had stretches where they got deep in the offensive zone, but they seemed to be slightly unaligned or off sync with each other as shot after shot just missed. There was an early wide open net where I'm not sure I could explain the geometry and physics of how the player put it wide and a more than a handful that just slipped outside the post.

They got on the board with about seven minutes left in regulation when Saika Kiyokawa's wrister from the right side deflected out and Momoko Ukamura batted it into the back of the net. The joy and celebration they showed for a meaningless goal in this game was touching and contagious.

Gabriela Lačná's empty-net goal closed out the scoring and Slovakia ensured they will stay playing in the top division while Japan will be relegated and Hungary will get promoted for the 2026 tournament.

What We Learned:

• Too late – The players probably reach their limit of games played by the time this tournament wraps up, but performances like Slovakia's today made me wish there were more games because it felt like things finally clicked for them and I would love to see them against a tougher opponent now. It's a shame that things didn't come together earlier because as they built more from the blue line, picked their shots and generally seemed to finally really listen to their coaches, they looked like a team that could compete.
• The details matter – Plenty of people will look at a US/Canada final and Canada's 17-0 win over Japan and form opinions about this tournament having never looked further. But this is one of those year's where it's really a shame anyone has to get relegated. There's was no clear "bad" team and it's so difficult knowing how moving back to D1A will set Japan back. I've never seen a promoted team push the other top-tier teams so much. Imagine what they could have done if the players could regularly train and play at this level. If Japan and Slovakia are indicative of the bottom of elite women's international hockey, then elite women's international hockey is in a very good place.

Standout Performances:

• Slovakia D Bianka Kostková and Bianka Masláková– The top D pair put in minutes, clearing the puck from around the net and expanding the offense to use the full zone. Coach Michal Kobezda said he wanted the team to be unleashing shots from the blue line throughout the tournament, but that didn't really come together until this final game and that movement across the top of the zone and shots from the point were successful. Not only was it great to see these players get goals, but you could also see it click for them and the rest of the team why being able to rely on those players and play offense through them was so important. Again, it's late and unfortunate those lessons just took hold now, but hopefully they stick with these players and they can come back together with the confidence to expand the zone.
• Japan F Momoka Okamura – The frustration had to be off the charts for Japan, who had so many close chances to score in this game and just could not make it happen, from missing the open net to the puck skirting just outside the post. But that did not stop the forwards from trying and when Momoka Okamura scored her first of the tournament, she was grinning like it was far more important than putting the one in a 4-1 game.

Quotable:

"For us this feels like winning a medal. These games are so tough when your head is on the line." - Slovakia Michal Kobezda

"We were a little afraid of what's going on in their heads because it's the end of the tournament and a tough game. But I'm pretty happy with how they played and how they performed." - Kobezda

"We finally started to put the puck on the blue line and we got some shots from there and it was worth it. I'm glad for both of our defenders that scored goals. We changed our game. We wanted to play this kind of hockey from the very beginning but it's hard for some girls to sell it." - Kobezda

"That's what we tried to tell our girls. If you're going to have a chance, try to go blocker high." - Kobezda, on scouting Haruka Kuromaru

"They don't say much. They don't talk. They do." - Kobezda on the leadership of Ema Tóthová and Nela Lopušanová

"It was my dream. I just closed my eyes and I shot it. If there's open space, I just shoot it. I dreamed about scoring last night. I don't have words" - Slovakia D Bianka Kostková, on her first international goal

"We had a lot of scoring chances but the puck luck just wasn't there today." - Japan coach Yujiro Kasahara

"It's a Japanese style to be happy whatever you have. Don't give up, whatever happens." - Kasahara, on the joy his team showed

"We had a young team here so the future looks bright, even though we get relegated now. They will all play next year and the year after. We are not panicked for the future." - Kasahara

Tournament Updates

• Hungary has won the D1A tournament and will be promoted to the top tier for the 2026 tournament
• In the busyness of quarterfinal day, I missed this: