U-18 Worlds: Four Remain In Hunt For Gold

Canada, USA, Czechia, and Sweden are the remaining nations vying for gold at the women's IIHF U-18 World Championships in Finland. Each of those teams won their quarter-final match ups on Thursday with USA beating Slovakia 9-1, Sweden beating Switzerland 4-1, Czechia shutting out Finland 6-0, and Canada 17-0.

Here's a look at the semi-finals to come, and how each team got there.

USA vs. Sweden

This is likely not the match up USA was hoping for as they had no easy time with Sweden in the preliminary round. USA only managed two goals before Sweden pulled their goalie, with the Americans outshooting Sweden 31-21. Edit Danielsson, Ebba Westerlind, Ebba Hesselvall, and Moa Johannesson have done a lot of heavy lifting for Sweden along the way, and they'll all need to be on their games, as will goaltender Maja Helge to upset the Americans. On USA, Morgan Stickney will continue to be the backbone in net, while a balanced attack headlines the American offensive group. Haley Box, Bella Fanale, Evelyn Doyle, Mary Derrenbacher, and Kylie Amelkovich have all piled on the points up front, while others like Annebelle Lovell and Christina Scalese have been the motor that keeps the team charging. On the point Megan Healey has been the leader, and first year blueliner Sloane Hartmetz has shown her mobility and offensive instincts. It's an uphill battle for Sweden, but not an insurmountable one if their cards are played well.

Canada vs. Czechia

Canada is waking up from the nightmare that was Czechia's 2024 semi-final upset only to face them again in 2025. Don't expect a repeat as the Canadians enter this game confident and ready to go, particularly after shutting out Czechia 5-0 in the preliminary round. Czechia will need the game of her life from Daniela Novakova in net, and they'll need more than just four balanced lines. Players like Linda Vocetkova and Magdalena Felcmanova will need to step up in a big way. Canada's waves of talent including Stryker Zablocki and Maxine Cimeroni up front, and the all-time leading scorer among defenders Chloe Primerano on the back end. Czechia will need some puck luck to upset Canada again, particularly without stars like Adela Sapovalivova and Tereza Plosova who they relied on in past years.

Relegation - Slovakia vs. Japan

Japan is coming off an absolute drubbing allowing the second most goals in the history of the tournament in their 17-0 loss to Canada, and Canada was playing nice for the second half of the game. It's the type of demoralizing loss that could tank a team, and Japan will need to bounce back quickly to avoid relegation again to the Division 1A tournament. Slovakia has held their spot in the top division for a number of seasons now, and Nela Lopusanova and Ema Tothova should have enough to keep them there. This is Slovakia's game to lose, and neither nation will want to take a step backward. At this tournament, Slovakia has been the stronger team, but Japan will do everything they can to avoid another relegation. On the other end of the scale, Hungary and Germany look like the most likely contenders to earn promotion from Division 1A