First Place And Revenge On The Line As Canada Faces Czechia

Last year, Czechia put together a shocking upset of Canada in the semi-finals of the women's IIHF U-18 World Championships. It meant a historic silver medal for Czechia, and a disappointing bronze medal for Canada.

As the two teams prepare to face each other a year later in the final game of the 2025 U-18 World Championship preliminary round, there's a few things on the line. First, there's the chance to secure first overall in Group B, second, there's a measure of revenge and redemption on the line for Canada.

Canadian head coach Vicky Sunohara, who was announced as a 2025 inductee to the IIHF Hall of Fame this week, knows the game will not be easy despite Canada being the heavy favorite yet again.

“Czechia has had a couple of good games," Sunohara said. "They are a physical team, so we can expect a physical game. Like us, they’re coming off two wins so I think it will be a great challenge for us and I’m sure Czechia will be ready to compete.”

For Canada, many of the players are less familiar with each other than some nations to play together in Europe more regularly. Finding chemistry and developing positive habits in a week long event can be a challenge, but it's one Canada will need to solve if they want to get back to top spot in this event.

“I think short-term competition is challenging because we have so many players that aren’t used to playing together and maybe following a team structure that might be a bit different than theirs," said Sunohara. "Everyone has been really focused. We talk about keeping it simple, paying attention to small details and habits. As we practice and play each day, we’re getting more familiar with each other, our structure and expectations, and everyone is doing a really good job.”

Canada has found a measure of chemistry in the line of Sara Manness, Maxine Cimeroni, and Hayley McDonald. Manness and Cimeroni sit tied for second in tournament scoring with four points in two games, while McDonald has two goals in two games.

“Our chemistry started back at summer camp," said Manness of her line. "We just know where we are on the ice, we cycle the puck well, we get in position and we’re finding success in the slot when we get pucks to the net.”

On the other side of the puck, Czechia is getting offensive contributions from Julie Jebousková, Linda Vocetková, and Barbora Proskova among others. The team lost many of their stars from the past few seasons, but they have the aforementioned trio, as well as players like Dana Březinová, Magdaléna Felcmanová, Johanna Tischler, and Adéla Fromová who have all stepped up.

Canada and Czechia drop the puck with first place on the line in Group B at 8:30pm local time in Finland on January 7.