A recap of the action from January 11, 2025, day two of the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Sydney and Membertou, Nova Scotia.
Slovakia 5, Finland 2
Slovakia was impressive after an opening game against the Americans where they barely possessed the puck. They took control of this game pretty early and kind of my Finland look like they were standing still for a lot of it. The speed the Slovakia can play with was on display as was the prowess of their star Nela Lopušanová, who scored four of the team's five goals.
Her most impressive was a power play snipe from deep in the circle on the goalie's right that she sniped top shelf. After the game she said one thing she's been working on is her shot - that feels incredible since she's already had one of the best shots in this age group since she was 14.
Ultimately, it felt like Slovakia had Finland well-scouted, was prepared for everything Finland tried and then countered better. It seemed like Finland went hard on being physical, particularly on the boards. But Slovakia withstood the contact and often came out with the puck, leaving Finland off-balance or flat-footed and unable to give chase or respond.
After their sluggish opening I was impressed with Finland in the opening minutes of Sunday's game and thought I might have been wrong about them. Unfortunately for them, it didn't last. They're far too static, leaving it to look like Slovia was skating around cones and heading to the net at will. There's been far too much look and react from Finland.
Next up: Slovakia meets Czechia on Tuesday at 10 AM local time, 9 AM eastern time. Finland will face USA on Tuesday at 1:30 PM local time, 12:30 PM eastern time.
What We Learned:
- Finland confusion – Coach Mira Kuisma called it a lack of courage, but whatever it is that's missing for her team has her pretty speechless in postgame. She has said a couple of times that her team has looked so much better than this in games at home over the past few months and she doesn't know why they're not showing up here. She said in postgame that a long meeting was planned for the group that night, since the staff had more to talk about than could be said in the few minutes postgame before the team needed to be out for media duties. Hopefully they figure out how to get the players out of their own heads.
- Time and space – What a difference a day made for Slovakia. It was fun to watch them be fully in their element and playing the way they want to play. I appreciated how obvious is was that they were well-prepped for how to handle Finland. They'd watched tape but also watched the Finns' game against Czechia on Friday. The jump to the international game is always about catching up to the speed of the game, even for the North American teams. Slovakia forgot that a bit on Saturday and were caught reacting to the US. On Sunday of course they had more time, but they also seemed to be moving more quickly and anticipating the game and each other.
- Ebbs and flows – Both games Sunday showed how quickly momentum and the tenor of a game can flip. That's something every team has to manage, but is a bit more at the forefront when we're talking teenagers, many of who are playing at this level for the first time. When Kuisma talks about courage, she's talking about a players' belief in herself and her team and whether or not they feel like they deserve to be here and can play at this level.
- Nela at the point – Slovakia had her at the blue line on the power play and I really liked seeing her in that quarterback role. It obviously makes sense with her shot and her hockey IQ and how she sees the ice, but I thought it showed off another aspect of her game. And also her leadership. She's one of the best goal-scorers we've seen, but she also loves to set up her teammates and is really good at giving them the puck in the exact spot they need it.
Standout Performances:
- Czechia F Nela Lopušanová – Yes, she scored four goals. But she also led her team in time on ice though not in number of shifts and she was averaging 1:17 a shift. She also had 10 shots on goal. She's a difference-maker in every aspect. In the past it was a lot of impressive individual efforts for her, but now it's more as a part of the whole.
- Finland F Emmi Loponen – She's been one of the bright spots through the opening two games. She's been a bit more active then her teammates with an eye to the net.
Quotable:
"We learned from playing the USA. We watched video. Coach gave us really good ideas. We just did what he said." - Slovakia captain Nela Lopušanová
"I think about that every day. I want to have so many goals. And help the team. I just want to do my best on the ice and be a good leader." - Lopušanová
"Yes 100%. That's what I'm thinking about. I just want to help the team. I don't care about the points. It would be amazing if I break it, but the team success is first." - Lopušanová
"We watched video and saw that they play physical hockey, too. We prepared for it. You could see we did a really good job with it."- Lopušanová
"We watched Finland and saw they were standing there and didn't seem to know where the puck was, so we tried to move it a little more and have people in front of the net." - Lopušanová
"She's an unbeliveable player. She played hard both ways. She back-checked hard. She tried to win every puck. It's a huge help for our team. Of course, she scored four goals. It's something really, really great for us because we need a player like her to be able to succeed." - Slovakia coach Michal Kobezda
"What we saw yesterday was that Finland didn't skate well. We felt like we had an opprtunity to skate with them and outwork them. I think they moved much better today, but still we found a way to win and we're happy about it." - Kobezda
"It was a good lesson for us. The girls could see what it's all about. They thought about it and they started to get to that level today. They battled much harder. They skated much harder." - Kobezda
"I think it's confidence and courage. They know how and they have played like we want them to play (in the past). I don't know why the courage has left the locker room. I really don't know what is happening when we step on the ice. We have good moments. We have good periods that we have courage and play very well, but then I don't know." - Finland coach Mira Kuisma
USA 9, Czechia 1
There's no way I would have predicted this final score after watching the first ten minutes of this game. Czechia was with the US stride for stride and never let them get settled. Every puck was contested, the pace was wicked and it was a constant fight for the neutral zone. The US failed to score on a power play and shortly after Czechia got their chance to strike. Instead, Jane Daley took off with a puck, scoring a shorthanded goal and it was like a switch flipped.
The Americans were reminded who they are and the Czechs were deflated. USA went on to score four goals in six minutes before the first intermission and suddenly a really interesting game felt pretty out of reach for Czechia. In those opening minutes it felt like they were out to show that they belong in the conversation with the US and Canada and were making a public statement and it's a little mind boggling how quickly that swagger left them.
Any chance that Czechia might come out of the break with a renewed push was quashed by Maggie Averill's goal 22 seconds into the period. Defender Aneta Paroubková scored a very pretty goal a minute later that really showed what the team is capable of, but they weren't ever able to showcase that with any consistency on Sunday. The third period was stronger and may give them something to build on, allowing just one goal to the Americans, but overall, it was a shocking outcome. The two teams played a pre-tournament game last week that the US won 4-2. No one believed they'd defeat Czechia so soundly in group play.
With 22 goals through the first two games, there have been a ton of outstanding performances, but none more so than from Jane Daley, who amassed her second-straight hat trick on Sunday. She is now tied with Kylie Amelkovich for the tournament lead in points with nine. Amelkovich had six assists on Saturday and added two more on Sunday, plus finally struck paydirt with a goal of her own.
Maggie Averill, Talla Hansen, Lindsay Stepnowski, Jillian McLaughlin and Alaina Gnetz all scored for the US in the win.
Next up: Czechia plays Slovakia on Tuesday at 10 AM local time, 9 AM eastern time. USA will face Finland on Tuesday at 1:30 PM local time, 12:30 PM eastern time.
What We Learned:
- Tough lessons – No one explicitly said it, but it sure felt like Czechia went into that game very confident they could play with the Americans and they were pretty quickly disabused of that notion. It was maybe not as pronounced as with Finland, but it was clear how quickly Czechia was pulled out of this game mentally. Their confidence faltered just as the US' sky-rocketed and the result was a game that was put out of reach within mere minutes. It was kind of wild to watch. Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský said it pretty succinctly "The gap still exists...The gap is still huge.
- Momentum – It felt like every USA goal begat more goals. Afterwards the players said they were being patient and not rattled in the opening minutes, but I feel like if the game had continued in that choppy, back-and-forth manner Czechia would have had the advantage. I'd love to bottle up those first few minutes for the Czechs because I think those are the ones they need to lean on and remember. They were physical and pesky and really strong on their sticks. No puck was cleanly possessed, no pass was uninterrupted. It was chaotic in the best way. That's the way I want to see them play in the future.
Standout Performances:
- USA F Jane Daley – A second straight hat trick is pretty bonkers, actually. I love her speed an instincts. She seems to be seeing the game a half a second quicker than everyone else.
- Czechia D Aneta Paroubková – Again, yes she scored the goal, but more importantly I think, she's a defender that was disrupting things and also looking to push play the other direction. While it felt like a lot of Czcehia got discouraged, no matter the score it was clear she was thinking about transition and getting something going. And her defense wasn't sacrificed for that.
"I think it's ridiculous. Back-to-back games with hat tricks and not by accident. Not an oopsies. Using her speed, using her ability. I think she's scary good. She's such a team player, and it just happens to be on her stick, and she does her pull-away speed, and she has an absolute missile of a shot. I feel bad for any goalie that's going to face it." - USA coach Courtney Kennedy on Jane Daley having hat tricks in each of the team's first two games
"I'm pretty impressed they were able to put together two games like that. It's tiring, the effort they're putting in and what we're asking them to do. Czechia is very good and dangerous and individually skilled. They're unbelievable, and I know they're well coached. So to see this team handle when it was felt tight and get our feet going and still be able to deliver and get it done and deliver in bunches and pull away, is very impressive. I think they're even learning more and more of belief in themselves and what they're capable of every minute." - Kennedy
"It's easy to get assists when my linemates score whenever I get them the puck," USA F Kylie Amelkovich
"I feel like coming out of the exhibition [against Czechia] it was proving to ourselves that we could play 60 full minutes our way and I think we proved that today." - Amelkovich
"A big thing we talked about was blocking shots and back-checking as well and we were all over them." - USA F Alaina Gnetz
"We were good for first ten minutes. Then after the first goal, what we did on our power play, our game was destroyed, and our players started to play scared. I don't know why. We spoke about that. We tried to prepare girls about the speed." - Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský
"The gap is still huge between us and the North American teams, and you could see it. It's hard to say: they were better with every part of the game." - Andrašovský
"We played 10 minutes very well. We fought a lot. We played how we wanted. After one mistake, our game was destroyed. Our performance was totally, completely bad. We didn't play our system." - Andrašovský
"It was a mental breakdown. It cannot happen at this tournament. It was our fault. We could have done much better in the first period. We got scored on twice and we all went down. We can't do it. It's unacceptable." - Czechia F Julie Jebousková
"The North American teams are always two steps ahead. We played really well against [the US] in the exhibition game. We know that we can play against them all the time. It was just a bad game." - Jebousková
"We have to throw this behind us. We're a great team. We have confidence. We can play with anyone. We have to go hard against Slovakia." - Jebousková
