GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND (JAN. 11)

It’s win or go home at the 2024 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship as Canada’s National Women's Under-18 Team faces the home team Switzerland in the quarterfinals at Bossard Arena.

Last Game

Canada finished the preliminary round with a perfect record, shutting out Finland 10-0 on Tuesday to earn top spot in Group A. Chloe Primerano and Caitlin Kraemer scored seven seconds apart in the first period—tying the tournament record for fastest two goals—to give the Canadians a 2-0 lead. Sienna D’Alessandro, Reese Logan and Primerano added goals in the middle frame before Canada exploded for a five-goal third period. Primerano became the first defender to record a hat trick at U18 Women’s Worlds and Kraemer completed one of her own. Hannah Clark made seven saves for the shutout.

Switzerland was last on the ice yesterday, losing to Slovakia 2-1 in overtime to close the prelims. Nela Lopusanova gave Slovakia an early lead, but Sonja Inkamp scored on the power play in the second period to tie the game. Switzerland outshot Slovakia 31-27, but Hana Krakorova found the back of the net 61 seconds into overtime to leave the Swiss winless in the preliminary round.

Last Meeting

It’s been 12 years since Canada last met Switzerland at U18 Women’s Worlds, with the Canadians downing the Swiss 13-1 to open the 2012 tournament in Zlin, Czechia. It was a slower start, with Canada leading 2-1 after 20 minutes, but the offence exploded from there. Ten different players scored, including Catherine Dubois, who finished a hat trick, and Taylor Woods, who scored twice. Emerance Maschmeyer made 25 saves.

What to Watch

The Canadians have had their foot on the gas in the offensive end, and plenty of the contributions have come from the blue line. Primerano became the first defender to record a U18 Women’s Worlds hat trick on Tuesday and led the prelims in scoring with nine points (5-4—9). Emma Venusio is not far behind Primerano, with the captain now sixth in tournament scoring with a goal and six helpers.

Despite the loss to Slovakia, Talina Benderer was fantastic in the Swiss goal. The 17-year-old made 25 saves in the extra-time defeat, joining the 32 saves she made against Sweden. The HC Davos Ladies netminder is back for her second world championship—last year, she had a 3-2 record, a 1.25 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.

A Look Back

This will be the fourth meeting between the Canadians and the Swiss at U18 Women’s Worlds, and historically Canada has had a wide edge in this matchup.

In their first-ever meeting at the 2009 world championship in Füssen, Germany, Casandra Langan scored four times and Jamie Lee Rattray had a hat trick as Canada opened the tournament with a 16-1 win. Sixteen of Canada’s 18 skaters recorded at least a point, and the Canadians outshot Switzerland 80-7.

All-time record: Canada leads 3-0
Canada goals: 38
Switzerland goals: 3