A recap of the action from January 15, 2025, day six of the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Sydney and Membertou, Nova Scotia.

Semifinals

In the end, there was little to no drama for the top teams as Canada and the US each cruised through the tournament on a crash course for Sunday, where they'll meet for the gold medal.

USA 9, Sweden 1

I'd talked about how good Sweden had been at keeping to the right side of things in terms of physicality, but that all went out the window in the semifinal. The Swedes had six penalties, including a game disqualification for spearing on Moa Stridh. Three of the Americans first five goals were on the power play, effectively putting the game out of reach for Sweden by the time the game was half over.

Moa Stridh received a game disqualification for spearing early in the second that gave the US a long power play and that proved to be the pivotal point of the game. Not only did the goals add to the mountain Sweden would have to climb to get back in contention, but momentum swung massively. Even though they were up by a few goals after the first, the Americans lookedl ike they were playing a little timidly, like they weren't quite sure of themselves. But the major penalty and two power play goals in three minutes took it to a 5-0 game.

Jane Daley scored one of the goals during the major power play, giving her 12 for the tournament, which set a new single-tournament record. She's also now two points away from tying the single tournament record for total points. Kylie Amelkovich's two assists in the game give her 12 for the tournament, which is one shy of tying a single-tournament record.

The Americans continue to move the puck well, particularly in transition. Sweden's forecheck put pressure on them at times, but some long, precise outlet passes forced the Swedes to regroup.

What We Learned:

• Killer mistakes – Both Sweden and Czechia learned how easily a small mistake can compound against the US and Canada. They capitalize on those mistakes and make their opponent pay and it changes everything about the game. I don't think either the US or Canada has played perfectly (the tape watching of both teams on the other must have been super interesting) and there have been places they could be exploited. But when the margins are so close, they can't be given extra time and space. The US made Sweden pay for every mistake they made and that was the difference between this year's big win and last year's one-goal, grind it out victory.
• The future is bright – At this point, the U18 tournament has been around long enough that senior national team members likely also played at this level, too. But for many it wasn't a direct path. I feel like we're going to see a good couple of player from this squad in the mix with Team USA sooner rather than later. Maggie Averill is a fascinating defender that gets involved like KK Harvey and Cayla Barnes, but has the size and strength of Lee Stecklein or Megan Keller. There's a deftness to her movement you don't normally see with such a tall skater. Like Harvey, she does not give up defense by going on offense. She's an intriguing mix that could add a lot of depth to the US defense sooner rather than later.

Standout Performances:

• USA F Emily Pohl –  Jane Daley's goals have taken center stage, but Pohl is having a stellar second act. After adding assists through the first two games, she got a goal in the third and has continued to step it up from there. It seems like it took a little time for her to find her space as a newcomer. She always seems to be in the right spot for a rebound and isn't afraid to step up and let the puck fly.
• Sweden D Ebba Westerlind – Her leadership has been evident all tournament. She's constantly talking to her teammates and keeping them grounded. I love how solid she is on her skates and how she uses her size to slow down the US transition. She led the team in time on ice, had two shots on goal and an assist on the only Sweden tally.

Quotable:

"It was a lot of work to get here and put ourselves in this spot. I'm very proud of the players. I'm proud of the way they played through all three periods of every single game. It's uphill from here. Whoever wins this next game, we're gonna have to prepare and get back to the drawing board on what we need to do to be successful. And I think both teams that we could end up playing, I think they're both fantastic. They're well coached. And, yeah, it'll be a hard, hard game." - USA coach Courtney Kennedy

"We don't take any of our opponents lightly. We knew it was going to be a good game, but I think all of us are us are prepared. Our coaches and teammates do a great job preparing all of us. So just have fun and smile and play our game that we know how to play." - USA F Emily Pohl

"We're trying to enjoy the moment but also think about what's next." - USA F Kylie Amelkovich

"Last year we obviously didn't win. So we need to get ready for tomorrow and be prepared. I think everybody is trusting each other." - USA F Jane Daley

"It's a tough game. They're a good team, and we tried to hold up against them. I think we did some good things, the same as the game against Canada. But, obviously, it goes fast. It's hard for us." - Sweden captain Ebba Westerlind

"I felt like they were first on the pucks, especially in the first period. I think we did better throughout the game." - Westerlind

"I think we did a good job. We were prepared for what was coming. They put the pucks in the net and we did not." - Westerlind

"This sucks. We competed and did the best we can." - Sweden F Tilde Grillfors

Canada 8, Czechia 1

Czechia got into early penalty trouble and Canada capitalized, making this a 3-0 game before six minutes had elapsed. The Czechs settled in after that, playing a particularly strong and successful third period on defense and keeping Canada off the board in the middle frame. But they never mustered much on offense, failing to hold the zone or do much more than throw pucks at the net from the blue line. They had occassional odd-player rushes, but those tended to be smothered by the Cnada defense before they could set up into anything in the offensive zone.

After their strong second, Czechia was set to kill most of a power play as the third period began. Lucie Šindelářová did that effectively, scoring a short-handed goal just 41 seconds into the frame to make it a 3-1 game. That should have been a boost for Czechia, but instead it seemed light a fire under the Candians - Adrianna Milani in particular. She scored with nine seconds left in that same power play and then again 76 seconds later to reestablish Canada's lead and take any momentum away from Czechia.

Milani played like a woman on a mission in the third - like she had decided that there was no way her team was losing this game and decided to be the player that made sure it didn't happen. When I asked her about it after the game, I said you looked like took thar personally - "I did," she said. "I take all of it personally." Every team needs at least one of those players who can step up in the tough spots and whose energy and determination can will their team to victory.

(Sometimes Hockey Canada in particular can be so stuck in their mindset and need to stay in system - and telling their players that - that they can forget that sometimes you just need to let the best players BE the best players.)

Milani's two goals gave her 10 for the tournament, which ties a Canadian record set by Caitlin Kraemer in 2023 and equaled again in 2024.

Both Czechia and Sweden played great stretches of hockey against Canada, but ultimately could not do it for a full 60 minutes.

I was impressed with Czechia's defense. They kept with the speed of Canada and had them completely off balance for the entire middle frame. They were disruptive and pesky, lifting sticks, intercepting passes and keeping them from playing their game.

What We Learned:

• Uphill battle – The thing about leveling up is that everyone else is doing it at the same time. This is probably as dominant as the North Americans have been the last few years and while Czechia has also grown exponentially as well, the difference in talent pools and resources means they aren't on the same path. l
• All even – The US and Canada have met in the gold medal game of this tournament 14 times - and they each have seven wins. Canada has won the last two gold medal games where the teams faced each other - in 2022 and 2025.
• Turning defense into offense – Czechia looked spectacular in the second period and prevented Canada from ever getting set up in their zone. But they also never mounted much on offense. The youth showed a bit as they would win the puck only to shoot weakly from the top of the zone as soon as they entered. Canada coach Vicky Sunohara has talked all tournament about a need to build from the back, particularly in games where they're dominating. She wanted her team to build habits so that when they did receive pushback, they could fall back on those habits. That paid off today as Canada was able to return to that in the third.

Standout Performances:

• Czechia F Andrea Kantorová – She had the assist on Šindelářová's goal and seemed to be one of the few forwards that kept her cool when she entered the zone with the puck.
• Canada F Rachel Piggott and Adiranna Milani – In a game that could have gotten away Canada, these two were the engine that kept their team moving forward. They put 12 of the team's 43 shots on goal and just never gave up. On a team of standout players, they've continuously stood out even more.

Quotable:

"What was really positive was the energy on the bench. You get scored on in a close game, but you don't hang your head down. They were supporting each other and it sparked some energy." - Canada coach Vicky Sunohara

"I think one day at a time. We've learned and we've grown. We're really exciting. It's hard sometimes when you're winning by higher scores, you can kind of get away with some things. I thought that we did some better things in the third of this game. Czechia definitely didn't give up." - Sunohara

"As a player or as a coach, there's nothing better than a Canada/US final. We're pretty excited about it." - Sunohara

"It was a great team game, from our goalie to our forwards. It was great. Gotta bring it tomorrow now. Tomorrow is the big one."- Canadian F Maddie McCullough

"It's the gold medal. The US is our rival, so we want to make sure it's a big one in front of our crowd. We want to make them proud." - McCullough

"Moving pucks low to high spreads out that PK. It allows us to have more time and space and allows us to get those shots on net, which really worked, so that's where the goals came from." - McCullough

"I take everything personally here. I want to feel responsible for things. I was glad I was able to carry my team thorugh that and give our team momentum that we needed." - Canada F Adrianna Milani

"We are proud of our effort, but we made too many bad mistakes today and lost the game because of it. It's a learning experience for us. I hope tomorrow we will play a little bit smarter." - Czechia coach Dušan Andrašovský

"We took too many penalties, and the first period was the reason why we lost. We fought to come back, and I'm proud of them." - Andrašovský

"It was our goal to win the second period. We didn't score but we didn't let in a goal. It was a small step. It is what it is. We have to say Canada is a great team." - Andrašovský

"The energy and heart is something we missed a little bit in earlier games." - Andrašovský

"If we can play like we did the second period today, we can win (the bronze medal)." - Lucie Šindelářová

Relegation Game

Hungary 7, Finland 5

In the most entertaining games in this tournament to date, Hungary came back from trailing Finland three different times a well as pulling away from a tie early in the third period to defeat Finland and send them to the D1A tournament for the first time ever.

In many ways, this wasn't a shocking outcome after having watched Finland be listless and uninspiring this tournament. After tying for their worst tournament finish last year at home, placing sixth, I think most everyone here expected them to have put in more work and come into Nova Scotia raring to vie for a medal.

Instead, they scored just three goals thorugh four games heading into the relegation match and were only in Saturday's game to begin with thanks to a pair of power play goals.

This might not be the most surprising win or upset, but it's certain to be the most impactful. Czechia beating Canada in the 2024 semifinals and Sweden beating USA in the 2023 semifinals were both shocking upsets and I think the winning nations got a boost from them, but in the end, the North Americans returned to the top last year.

Despite being having gone through similarly difficult paths in the tournament, Hungary and Finland entered Saturday's game with very different attitudes and in the end, I think that made a huge difference.

Hungary played with belief. They bought into their systems. They played their games to the final whistle, regardless of the score and they seemed to take lessons from each game and immediately incorporate them into their game. Much like Switzerland getting their win over Hungary in the final group round game, Hungary had nothing to lose.

Finland was scared. They played the whole tournament like they were uncomfortable in their skin and as each game went more and more poorly, it felt like they were a self-fulfilling prophecy. That was before demotion was on the table.

Maybe most importantly, Hungary showed resiliency. After scoring a single goal all game, they broke out for seven (based on a search of the IIHF Record Book, Hungary had never scored more than five goals in a women's game, senior or U18, at the top level before).

The teams traded goals back and forth. Finland went up twice, scoring on the power play two times in the first period, but Hungary responded each time to make it 2-2 at the first break. The Finns struck first in the second, but Hungary replied with two goals to head to the second intermission 4-3.

Finland scored early in the second to tie it up again, but Hungary was carrying the momentum of staying with the Finns. Hiezl and Polónyi lit the lamp to give Hungary a two-goal lead at 6-4. Finland pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with just under four to play in the third and were successful as Siivonen scored her second of the day. But Polónyi found the empty-net to close out a hat trick and secure the 7-5 win. This is their first-ever win over Finland at this level.

In addition to Polónyi's three goals, Hiezl scored twice and Blanka Temesi and Helga Tamás each scored once for Hungary. Krisztina Weiler, the third player on the line with Hiezl and Polónyi, collected two assists, led the team with 10 shots and was named best player of her team for the game.

Siiri Friederiksen was named Finland's best player.

After the game, Finnish coach Mira Kuisma said she literally had no words to describe what she and her team were feeling. She said she told her team to stay off their phones and to just be together with each other as a team.

What We Learned:

• Hungary makes history – With the win, Hungary stopped the cycle of the team that was promoted the year before being relegated back to D1A at the next tournament. That last team that won promotion and stayed was Sweden in 2015. (There's always an asterisk on these facts because Slovakia was relegated 2020, there was not a 2021 tournament and then brough back to the top tier in 2022 following Russia's ban).
• Desperate times – The repercussions from this demotion are going to be felt for a long time in Finland. We can only hope that it serves are a kick in the pants for the Federation and presages big positive changes. My fear is that it will reinforce sexist misconceptions about the women's game and lead to less time, money and energy being spent to develop young talent.

Standout Performances:

• Hungary F Petra Polónyi and G Zoé Takács – Polónyi's three goals and two assists powered the team on offense. She and Réka Hiezl (who had a whopping 29:58 of ice time) have been playing together for half their life and their chemistry showed out in this game. And Takács gave up some goals she'd probably like back, but never let the score phase her. She's made some massive saves and used her flexibility (she more does the splits than goes in a butterfly) to get from post to post despite her small size.
• Finland G Eerika Kujala – Just like Takács, I was impressed with the way Kujala bounced back again and again this tournament. Her team did her no favors over and over, but things would have been even worse without her stellar play. She gave her team a chance. She was particularly good on the breakaway.

Quotable:

"I think everyone tried their best but it wasn't enough,We have had a lot of pressure on us, especially this last game." - Finland captain Senja Siivonen

"I don't know what happened. My head is so empty right now. We talked about the fact that we need to skate, get speed whenever we can, control the puck, but we didn't do that." - Finland coach Mira Kuisma

"We have played on the same club since we were nine years old. We were always linemates. Our connection is always the best. And we've played on the national team for five years. I don't even have to look up. I know where she's going to be." - Finland captain Réka Hiezl on playing with Petra Polónyi

"We have a really good team and we fought hard, We wanted to win every single shift and we did that for 60 minutes. They're a great group of players and really intelligent. We had a plan and we knew how we wanted to play." - Hungary coach Zoltan Fodor

"This is a really good message because everybody who follows women's hockey back home will be excited," Fodor added. "This win is very important for our program. We have shown that all the effort is worth it."