First things first because I don't think it can be said enough - Czechia did a spectacular job hosting this tournament.

I shared my story from Utica about Tereza Sadilová and the work to grow women's hockey in Czechia already, but just in case you haven't read it, start there. For me, it really drives home how far things have come and how important and honestly improbable the success of this tournament was. This country has been really slow to accept women's hockey, which makes the sell-out, raucous crowds even more impressive. They didn't just show up once. They showed up over and over, inside and outside the arena, singing and dancing and jumping, with instruments and steins of beer. At least from my viewpoint, the vibes were immaculate and I've never been sadder to have not been there.

I was able to attend the last two senior worlds because they were in North America, but honestly the timing coming right out of the NCAA season and the fact that I already take two weeks off in January for U18s means that generally, going to the senior tournament is not possible for me. I took one cursory look at flight prices for Czechia a few months back and immediately ruled out going. But even though it was never more than a pipe dream, I have massive FOMO about not being there.

We've seen a ton of movement for women's sports generally and women's hockey specifically here in North America, but this was what I hope will be a watershed moment for European programs.

Congratulations and well done to everyone involved in putting on the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship in České Budějovice. May this be only the beginning.

Bronze medal game

Finland 4, Czechia 3 (OT)

  • Per this article and Chrome translate, Kateřina Mrázová played the tournament with two broken bones and a torn ligament in her wrist! She mentions the pain and said the team physio helped make it possible, but wow is that a lot to take in. With Carla MacLeod at the helm of both her PWHL and country teams, I'm guessing this wasn't a secret and got signed off on, whether explicitly or implicitly. Mrázová says she did not want to miss being a part of this moment with her team hosting.
  • This game was a heartbreaker and I mean that with no offense to Finland. It was easy to get swept up in the excitement and passion of the Czech fans and also root for what winning at that stage in front of that many people would have meant to the players and to support and growth of women's hockey in Czechia.
  • The home team seemed to have things in hand, but maybe began to lose focus or got so caught up in the idea of the win that they forget to actually secure it?
  • I thought the Czechs were a little hard done by the refs in the semifinal and bronze medal games. They were also the most penalized team in the tournament by a pretty wide margin. There's no arguing with Abbey Murphy's embellishments in the semifinal, but in the bronze medal game it wasn't that Czechia didn't deserve the penalties they received, it was that a lot of other things went uncalled.
  • But I also think a team with a 3-0 lead has to be able to handle themselves and a few penalty kills and not let things go off the rails. The Czechs had plenty of opportunities to score throughout the third and early in the overtime and simply did not bury them. They lost concentration, got sloppier and started making mistakes.
  • This tournament overall was probably the best Czechia had ever played from start to finish and they ended up 2-5. That's how it goes sometimes. But I think there's so much here they'll build on. If you haven't seen this video from the Czech locker room after their close semifinal loss to the United States, take the time to watch it (the audio is in English).
  • I feel like Czechia players, staff and fans will see the second part of the OT in their sleep. After some initial pop, I'm not sure they ever got a dangerous puck to net. Even as Finland picked up pace and started really getting to the net, the Czechs were content to keep to the perimeter and cycle. It felt like they were so worried about keeping possession (which IS important in 3v3 overtime) that they forgot that possession without a goal serves no purpose.
  • I felt like the speed and puck handling of Adéla Šapovalivová could have brough some energy and she'd really have been useful for cutting to the net, but she played just 39 seconds. In fact
  • Natálie Mlýnková was outstanding this tournament. Her transfer season at Minnesota was a little up and down, but she shone in České Budějovice. She's got a long future with the national team and I expect we'll see her making waves professionally, as well.
  • Though I think Czechia and the impact of this tournament are the storyline, I don't want to shortchange Finland. The Finns took bronze for the second straight year. They ended the tournament 4-3 and despite some shaky goaltending at times, still closed out their tournament on a high note. This team can sometimes rely on their goalie to do the brunt of the work and keep them in games, so while it wasn't good to see Sanni Ahola struggle, it was a positive to see her team respond and find a way to win anyway.
  • There was more depth on offense for this Finnish team than I think we've seen in recent years and it was really great to see players further down the line chart make an impact, including game-winner Jenniina Nylund. There's going to be some ongoing roster turnover here and it was good for the really young players to get some experience and for the 20-somethings to settle into their roles.
  • It really felt like Michelle Karvinen stepped up big time for this team, taking on more of a leadership role in Jenni Hiirikoski's absence.

Gold medal game

USA 4, Canada 3 (OT)

  • This final game wasn't at all like I'd imagined it be. That fist period was rough and kind of boring (by this matchup's standards anyway). It was the kind of disjointed and choppy that you often seen in the first few minutes while teams feel each other out and let the nerves settle, but instead it lasted all frame.
  • I mentioned Canada's ability to score quickly in the semifinal and they did deliver in that respect, but their tallies were all really scrappy and I'm not sure I expected that. Canada has been so great with puck movement and finding lanes, but on Sunday their goals came from rebounds and extra opportunities. I suppose that's how these games go, but it still stood out to me.
  • It really felt like Canada had the advantage going into overtime. They had a big shot advantage and the momentum and seemed to be doing a better job driving the net. In fact, when the US scored I was writing a social media post comparing the Americans to Czechia. As the period wound down they were ringing the puck and not doing much to push on offense. And while she'd been very good to that point, they also had the goaltending advantage with Gwyn Philips in net after the collision that sent Aerin Frankel to the bench.
  • All of that being said, I have no idea what Canada was doing on the play that led to the game-winning goal. They got really precious with trying to get the perfect set up and the perfect breakout and line changes. The result was confusion and sloppiness. Was Jocelyne Larocque passing to Sarah Fillier, who was going for a change? Was she hoping to knock it off the boards and up to Marie-Philip Poulin in the neutral zone? Was she just trying to avoid any interaction near the bench that might lead to a too any players penalty? Tessa Janecke hits her stick as she tries to pass, muddling things further and Taylor Heise, who'd scored the game-trying goal, read it perfectly. She took a few touches and strides and Janecke was quick to get in position on the back door. Heise's pass could not have been more perfect and Janecke just had to tap it in.
  • A few times later in the game Janecke had a pretty good look and ended up shooting the puck outside the goal frame. I thought it was interesting that after the game Hilary Knight spoke about how important it was that Janecke kept pushing, even after missing a few times. I feel like it could have been frustrating or disheartening, but the final play came from Janecke's forecheck. Especially in 3v3, opponents tend not to push too hard on the time wasting behind the net because it's so easy to get caught out. Canada's long stretch of fussing back there and cycling through players gave her the chance to really push, forcing Larocque to made a quick play to the bench side. It was a really good calculated risk by Janecke.
  • Abbey Murphy drew another penalty in this one with what a lot of folks would call embellishment. It was not called that by officials and I have to wonder if there will be some intense coaching and video sessions for the refs before the Olympics (women's hockey's next big tournament).
  • That being said, I was really surprised the officials did not seem to even consider taking another look at the elbowing penalty on Sarah Nurse that came just before the collision between Laura Stacey and Frankel. The replays sure made it look like contact to the head and the action sent Heise seemingly face-first into the boards. I've seen reviews and harsher penalties for lesser hits. The good news was that Heise was clearly ok because she scored on the power play 66 seconds later.
  • The circumstances weren't great, but in a "best of a bad situation" sort of outlook, it was really great to get Gwyn Philips in a gold medal game and even better for her to perform as well as she did. One of the biggest worries for the US heading to 2026 is that none of their goalies have Olympic experience and Frankel was the only one with big game experience at this level. I feel like how Philips handled Sunday helped ease a little of that pressure.
  • I am generally very against goalies doing things other than tending their goals. Canada's Ann-Renée Desbiens is somewhat known for the jaunts she likes to take away from her goal front. I don't love forays behind the net and I really hate when goalies go on an adventure. But I also think maybe it was the right move for Frankel in that situation? Having Laura Stacey at full speed picking up a puck alone in your zone and heading in on net while the goalie stands and waits feels like it ends in a goal more than 75% of the time (and I think that's a very conservative estimate). Obviously no one expected Frankel to get trucked and I hope that her appearance in postgame celebrations means she's relatively ok. But trying to look at that play without the benefit of hindsight, I feel like I don't hate it and that's a really big step for me, noted stay-at-home goalie stan. It was another calculated risk and I think those are necessary in a gold medal game.

Apologies for not talking about the 5/6 placement game. I have not had a chance to watch it yet, but I do have it recorded and will catch up midweek.

I could go on forever, but I think I'll leave it there. While I don't think this final day was quite as good as Utica's (it might be a long time before anything does), I also thought it might pale in comparison and it simply did not. There's so much that I know will last in people's consciousnesses and I feel like that's all we can ask for. You can't plan for the game outcomes and these games lived up to the rest of the scenes from České Budějovice.

(Photo: USA Hockey Twitter)