GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. CZECHIA (JAN. 13)

It’s semifinal Saturday at the 2024 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, and Canada’s National Women's Under-18 Team will face off against Czechia at Bossard Arena for a spot in the gold medal game.

Last Game

Canada met the home team in the quarterfinals, shutting out Switzerland 6-0 to advance to the semis. Sienna D’Alessandro scored twice to give her seven goals in the tournament. Gracie Graham had a goal and two assists, with Maxine Cimoroni, Morgan Jackson and Caitlin Kraemer rounding out the scoring. Chloe Primerano recorded three helpers and Rhyah Stewart made three saves to record her first international shutout.

Czechia battled Sweden in the first quarterfinals, winning 4-2 to earn a spot in the semifinals. Isabelle Leijonhielm gave Sweden an early lead, but Adela Sapovaliova and Tereza Plosova responded for Czechia for a 2-1 advantage after the first period. Sweden’s Ella Hellman tied the game in the third period before Sapovaliova and Linda Vocetkova sealed the win for the Czechs.

Last Meeting

Looking back less than a week, Canada downed Czechia 8-1 on Sunday for its second win in as many days. The Canadians scored a record three shorthanded goals—two from Abby Stonehouse, who also added three helpers for a five-point performance. Kraemer scored twice to set another goal-scoring record, passing Marie-Philip Poulin for the most by a Canadian at U18 Women’s Worlds. Jackson, Emma Venusio and Mackenzie Alexander rounded out the scoring. Stewart made 23 saves in her tournament debut.

What to Watch

With high-scoring games and only one goal against so far, several Canadians are close to breaking tournament scoring records. Primerano (5-7—12) needs two points to record the most by a defender at a single U18 Women’s Worlds. Caitlin Kraemer (8-0—8) is three goals away from breaking her own single-tournament Canadian mark set last year. And between the pipes, Hannah Clark is tied for the most career shutouts at the tournament (5), with U.S. netminders Sidney Peters and Alex Cavallini.

Adela Sapovalivova and Tereza Plosova continue to be a dynamic duo for Czechia. Sapovaliova has seven goals and one helper, while Plosova has recorded one goal and six assists through four games each. Both players were a part of Czechia’s bronze medal team at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, Ontario, and Sapovalivova has another bronze from the 2022 Women’s Worlds in Calgary, Alberta.

A Look Back

This semifinal will be the eighth meeting between the Canadians and Czechs at U18 Women’s Worlds. Canada has had the edge in all seven all-time matchups, only allowing five goals.

It’s the second time the teams have met in the playoff round; at the 2018 tournament in Dmitrov, Russia, Courtney Correia, Willow Slobodzian and Courtney Kollman scored second-period goals as Canada earned a 3-1 win to advance to the semifinals.

All-time record: Canada leads 7-0
Canada goals: 58
Czechia goals: 5