A recap of the action from January 12, 2025, Day 6 of the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Vantaa, Finland.

Czechia 2, Sweden 1

The Czechs won back-to-back medals in the U18 Women's World Championship for the first time ever with a come-from-behind win on Sunday.

The game had a slow start as though the toll of the tournament - and also facing off against the US and Canada in the semifinals - had caught up with the teams. That being said, it felt as though Sweden had the advantage early.

It felt like a given when Tilde Grillfors lit the lamp near the midpoint of the game. She'd already put two gorgeous looks on net and then Sweden went on the power play. Her first shot of the advantage was saved, but the second was a no-doubt snipe that put her team ahead 1-0.

The game was a battle of very tired wills. Sweden is at their best on defense and they kept Czechia from developing any kind of rhythm . Czechia could gain the zone, but most often failed to do much of anything once they got there. Sweden had some dangerous chances, but most of their zone time was one and done when it came to shots on net.

The game started to get chippy as the second wound down and things picked up again in the third, with a lot of pushing and shoving after the whistle. Czechia got their first power play of the game and then almost gave up the advantage with some pushing after the whistle. But both teams were penalized and Czechia kept the advantage, which they took advantage of just before it expired when Veronika Hujová's pass hit off a Sweden skate and slid into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1 with about 12 minutes to go.

In the end, it was fittingly captain Linda Vocetková who scored the game-winner for Czechia. Sweden's defense continued to hold strong and Vocetková said she was trying to find any way to score. She staked room in front of the net and when she saw Johanna Tischler's shot coming in, she stuck out her stick and put a dip on it, deflecting the puck into the net. After a review for high sticking, the goal was called good and Czechia had to lead with just more than six left in regulation.

Sweden pulled their goalie, but Czechia stood their ground, blocking shots and earning the bronze medal.

Goalie Daniela Nováková had 36 saves in the game (and my vote for goalie of the tournament) and finished the tournament with a 92.82 save percentage on the second-most shots faced in the tournament (195). She was outstanding.

What We Learned:

It's how you end – That applies both to the tournament as a whole and this game specifically. Czechia was scattered at times throughout the week. They had a lot of roster turnover for this tournament and lost some big names and leaders. I'm not sure they knew who they were coming in and it took them some time to buy in on themselves, I think. They were hard on themselves. But they pulled out some wins, kept getting better, started listening to their coaches more and gained confidence. After Saturday's semifinal loss, Andrašovský said his team would win on Sunday. He was very matter-of-fact and in the run of conversation. He had faith and his team finally got there, too. They didn't play their best the first two periods, but their stellar goalie kept the game close and Linda Vocetková said after the win that late in the game she and her teammates realized that they weren't as tired as maybe they should have been or thought they'd be. That gave Czechia a renewed push to close out the game.
At full strength – Sweden scored the second-fewest goals this tournament (13) and half of those were scored on the power play. They had a really good tournament, particularly on defense, but simply did not generate enough offense. While I was beyond impressed with the play of Edit Danielsson all tournament, it was for a lot more than her goal-scoring. And her being the primary target made the team easier to defend. When it game down to crunch time, even with a player advantage, they simply weren't a team that could create offense at will.

Standout Performances:

Sweden F Moa Johannesson – I mentioned her the first game, but she might be the most underrated played on this team. She logged the most minutes again today (including 10+ in the third period) and took (and won) the lion's share of faceoffs. She's not flashy like Edit Danielsson, but she's a steady presence that's going to control the puck, feed her linemates and anchor the team. Honorable mention to Tilde Grillfors, who was so clearly feeling herself today and looked like given the chance, she'd snipe a half dozen goals.
Czechia F Linda Vocetková – She scored the game winner and assisted on the game-tying goal. All three of her shots came in the third. She helped hold the team together and you could see her hyping her teammates on the bench, patting backs and keeping them energized. She's too energetic and joyful to quite have the "I'll do it myself" determination, but you also knew that if Czechia was going to come back, she would be involved. She pushed for space in front and tried a little bit of everything to try to find the go-ahead goal. Every year I get the opportunity to be introduced to new players on and off the ice and there's always at least one that stands out. This year, it was Vocetková. I'm suddenly very invested in her reaching her dreams and hope someone in the NCAA picks her up because she's that amazing combination of a great player and fabulous person.

Quotable:

“I feel bad for the players, obviously, this was a tough loss. We weren’t tough enough in front of the net and when we had our chances on powerplay, we just couldn’t get the puck in. They owned the net fronts and deserved the win." - Sweden coach Andreas Karlsson

“The differences between the teams are so small, had we scored another one, it would have been a completely different game." - Karlsson

“Both teams were tired, and of course it's tough to play six games in nine days, but that’s what we have to learn from this. We need to play more games with high intensity so that it becomes natural to them." - Karlsson

"It was very hard today. We didn't do well the first two periods. Maybe the players just thought Sweden would come and hand us the medals. But we started thinking a little bit differently and we started to believe in ourselves more and do what we need to do." - Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský

"I have to say, the Swedish team played a great game. They made a huge step the last three years. They are very good." - Andrašovský

"I'm not nervous before games, not even here." - Czechia goalie Daniela Nováková

"I was the third goalie last year, so when I saw them win silver, I kind of wanted to win gold but at least we have the bronze." - Nováková

"My teammates helped me. They blocked a lot of shots. They make sure I can see most of the time." - Nováková

"Our start in the tournament wasn't really great. Against Finland, my teammates were amazing. Against Canada, that was a terrible game for me so I wanted to make it up to my teammates this game, so I put everything I had in me to this game." - Nováková

"It's great. I have no words. It's just great. We were losing and I thought, 'If we lose this, I am going to cry.' I'm really proud of my teammates, they really turned the game for us." - Nováková

"Last year I felt like I wasn't well-conditioned. I knew it was not enough to play in the championship. I worked really hard and now it paid off. It feels really nice. It feels so nice to know that you did it for a reason." - Czechia captain Linda Vocetková

"We got some energy late when we realized 'We still have legs for this. Let's pay it off.'" - Vocetková

"I knew i wanted to be in front of the net. We were taling about it every time. I put my stick there and I just dipped me because I knew the goal was somewhere behind me. I didn't believe I actually put it in." - Vocetková