Canada edged the United States 3-2 to clinch the title Monday night at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships.
With the victory, Canada claimed its sixth title and stopped its rival from defending its 2019 title. Canadian goaltender Mari Pietersen stopped 29 shots – including 10 in the final period – to clinch the win.
The game presented a stark turnaround from the meeting between the teams in group play, which Team USA won 7-0.
Ava Murphy and Alexia Aubin each had a goal and an assist while Jocelyn Amos added one more goal for Canada.
The Canadian national teams have had a good run of late, with the senior national team beating the U.S. 3-2 to win gold at the Beijing Olympics in February. The national team beat the U.S. by the same score at the world championships last August.
After the Canadian junior team went up 3-0 on Monday, Team USA rallied with goals by Finley McCarthy and Claire Enright in the second period. But it wasn’t enough, as the tournament leaders in goals scored (21) managed just two goals on 31 shots in the loss.
Earlier, Finland beat Sweden 3-0 to claim its third bronze medal. Sanni Vanhanen had all three goals to secure the hat trick while Emilia Kyrkko stopped 35 shots on goal.
The most recent iteration of the tournament before this took place more than two years ago, in January 2020. The 2022 tournament certainly delivered, even six months after its originally scheduled starting date.
The competition was set to take place in Sweden in January, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. After an outcry, in which many pointed out the IIHF men’s tournaments were still on the schedule for later in the year, the organization changed gears, shifting the tournament to Wisconsin in June.
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