photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Micheline Veluvolu
The first weekend of the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship is done, and there’s plenty to ponder during the tournament’s first rest day. IIHF.com’s resident reporters Risto Pakarinen and Andy Potts pick out some of the details that caught their eye through the first eight games in Vantaa.
Busy goalies
Scoring goals is hard, and you can blame the teams’ great defensive work, and the goalies for that.
Slovakia’s Mariana Sumegova was the busiest goalie during the tournament’s opening weekend. She faced 111 shots and made 99 saves. Switzerland’s Amaya Iseli clocked the second-most minutes (121:33). Finland’s Kerttu Kuja-Halkola played 57 seconds more – while also facing two shots shy of 100. She made 91 saves against Czechia and Canada. That gives the Finnish starter an impressive 92.86 save percentage.
Three other goalies played all of their teams’ games: Sweden’s Maja Helge, Czechia’s Daniela Novakova, and Team USA’s Morgan Stickney, who has yet to allow a goal in the tournament. (RP)
Dangers of inactivity
The more shots you face, the more goals you allow, right? Well, maybe not always. While many goalies have come under heavy fire, minding the Canadian net has not been the most strenuous duty to date.
Yet when Switzerland scored on Canada midway through the second period on Sunday, the Canadians had allowed 3 goals on just 11 shots in less than two games. A goaltending crisis in the offing? Maybe, but it’s early to jump to conclusions.
First, we’re looking at a tiny sample size: by the end of the Switzerland game, Amelia Wilkinson had 10 saves and a respectable save percentage of 90.9. More important, perhaps, most goalies will tell you that maintaining focus in one-sided games can be tougher than facing a regular amount of shots. We can expect the numbers to improve as the tournament progresses and Canada faces more challenging opposition. (AP)
The gap is closing
Sure, the North Americans still rule the roost here. The U.S. and Canada are unbeaten through their opening games and it would be generous to say a shock was ever in the cards. But, unlike the earliest editions of the U18s, where double-digit blowouts were not unusual, the favourites were made to work in each game.
Moreover, there are signs that the lower ranked nations are more competitive among themselves: witness Switzerland coming close to beating Czechia, last year’s silver medallist, or Japan giving host nation Finland a real fright. There’s no overnight fix for the chasing pack, but the trend at the U18 level continues to bring tighter games – and that should start to filter into the senior international game in due course. (AP)
Care to dance?
Often when the coach walks into the dressing room during the intermission, the Xs and Os fly, and there may be some tough words.
The Finnish team has been down by a goal going into the third period against both Sweden and Japan, and both times they rallied back in the third. And both times the secret behind the push was to relax. Finnish coach Mira Kuisma left it up to her players.
“I told that they should do whatever they needed to do to relax and come back to our own game,” she said after the game against Japan.
The players decided to sing and dance.
And the coach?
“I definitely didn’t dance,” Kuisma said emphatically.
Call it the generation gap. (RP)
Belting it out
Speaking of singing, anyone who saw and heard the Czech team belt out their national anthem after wins over Switzerland and Slovakia knows that the group of players is a Team. With a capital T.
Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that of the 25 players on the tournament roster, 10 play hockey outside Czechia? Maybe the national anthem sounds a little bit grander and gets more meaning when you get to join your fellow Czechs and speak your own language with your teammates again?
That’s true for all nationalities, of course. Slovakia’s Nela Lopusanova – who plays for the Bishop Kearney Selects Girls in Rochester, New York – seems to be enjoying herself back in a Slovak environment, and she even said so. No place like the national team dressing room. (RP)
Lopusanova leads again
Those home comforts are helping Lopusanova assume an early lead in the scoring race. So far, she has 5 (4+1) points here in Vantaa, on a team that has scored just five goals so far. Great for her, particularly considering Slovakia’s tough start in the tournament. Also, a familiar story: in 2023, her 12 points led the tournament in scoring, while more recently she made a spectacular debut at the senior international level with 18 points in just three Olympic qualification games. However, when one player is involved in every goal her team scores, it poses some questions.
Clearly, Slovakia is not a one-woman show: Sumegova has performed heroics in net to keep her team in games, while the instinctive understanding between Lopusanova and Ema Tothova is what makes that Slovak line so dangerous to any opponent. But the key to a sustained, 60-minute threat is surely finding some secondary scoring. Slovakia has transformed its program to establish a place at this level; this could be the next step towards sustained success. (AP)
The power of four
In Switzerland, they like to start young. The Swiss roster in Vantaa features two players – captain Naemi Herzig and fellow forward Jael Manetsch – who are back for a fourth World U18s. They are the only 4-timers at this year’s championship – and you’d think that it would be an unusual achievement in any year.
However, the Swiss approach is a bit different. Herzig and Manetsch join nine other players who have featured in four top-division U18 Women's Worlds, with three more players playing on four rosters as Switzerland yo-yoed between the top two divisions.
Evidence suggests longevity at the junior level translates to senior success: Lisa Ruedi and Stephanie Wetli are already two-time Olympians at age 24, while Rahel Enlzer, Noemi Rhyner, Lara Christen and Nicole Vallario have all gone on to the Winter Games. Meanwhile, the legendary Alina Muller helped the Swiss win promotion to the top division during her four U18 Women's Worlds campaigns, and also has Olympic bronze from the first of her three trips to the Games back in 2014. (AP)
Discipline, discipline, discipline
The Canadians are the most penalized team in the tournament, taking 11 minor penalties in two games. Fortunately for Canada, their penalty kill has also been good, and they've only allowed one goal.
The Americans, on the other hand, have only played eight minutes shorthanded, and their penalty kill is still perfect so far. Those good habits may be critically important as we head towards the playoff stage. (RP)
Busy goalies
Scoring goals is hard, and you can blame the teams’ great defensive work, and the goalies for that.
Slovakia’s Mariana Sumegova was the busiest goalie during the tournament’s opening weekend. She faced 111 shots and made 99 saves. Switzerland’s Amaya Iseli clocked the second-most minutes (121:33). Finland’s Kerttu Kuja-Halkola played 57 seconds more – while also facing two shots shy of 100. She made 91 saves against Czechia and Canada. That gives the Finnish starter an impressive 92.86 save percentage.
Three other goalies played all of their teams’ games: Sweden’s Maja Helge, Czechia’s Daniela Novakova, and Team USA’s Morgan Stickney, who has yet to allow a goal in the tournament. (RP)
Dangers of inactivity
The more shots you face, the more goals you allow, right? Well, maybe not always. While many goalies have come under heavy fire, minding the Canadian net has not been the most strenuous duty to date.
Yet when Switzerland scored on Canada midway through the second period on Sunday, the Canadians had allowed 3 goals on just 11 shots in less than two games. A goaltending crisis in the offing? Maybe, but it’s early to jump to conclusions.
First, we’re looking at a tiny sample size: by the end of the Switzerland game, Amelia Wilkinson had 10 saves and a respectable save percentage of 90.9. More important, perhaps, most goalies will tell you that maintaining focus in one-sided games can be tougher than facing a regular amount of shots. We can expect the numbers to improve as the tournament progresses and Canada faces more challenging opposition. (AP)
The gap is closing
Sure, the North Americans still rule the roost here. The U.S. and Canada are unbeaten through their opening games and it would be generous to say a shock was ever in the cards. But, unlike the earliest editions of the U18s, where double-digit blowouts were not unusual, the favourites were made to work in each game.
Moreover, there are signs that the lower ranked nations are more competitive among themselves: witness Switzerland coming close to beating Czechia, last year’s silver medallist, or Japan giving host nation Finland a real fright. There’s no overnight fix for the chasing pack, but the trend at the U18 level continues to bring tighter games – and that should start to filter into the senior international game in due course. (AP)
Care to dance?
Often when the coach walks into the dressing room during the intermission, the Xs and Os fly, and there may be some tough words.
The Finnish team has been down by a goal going into the third period against both Sweden and Japan, and both times they rallied back in the third. And both times the secret behind the push was to relax. Finnish coach Mira Kuisma left it up to her players.
“I told that they should do whatever they needed to do to relax and come back to our own game,” she said after the game against Japan.
The players decided to sing and dance.
And the coach?
“I definitely didn’t dance,” Kuisma said emphatically.
Call it the generation gap. (RP)
Belting it out
Speaking of singing, anyone who saw and heard the Czech team belt out their national anthem after wins over Switzerland and Slovakia knows that the group of players is a Team. With a capital T.
Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that of the 25 players on the tournament roster, 10 play hockey outside Czechia? Maybe the national anthem sounds a little bit grander and gets more meaning when you get to join your fellow Czechs and speak your own language with your teammates again?
That’s true for all nationalities, of course. Slovakia’s Nela Lopusanova – who plays for the Bishop Kearney Selects Girls in Rochester, New York – seems to be enjoying herself back in a Slovak environment, and she even said so. No place like the national team dressing room. (RP)
Lopusanova leads again
Those home comforts are helping Lopusanova assume an early lead in the scoring race. So far, she has 5 (4+1) points here in Vantaa, on a team that has scored just five goals so far. Great for her, particularly considering Slovakia’s tough start in the tournament. Also, a familiar story: in 2023, her 12 points led the tournament in scoring, while more recently she made a spectacular debut at the senior international level with 18 points in just three Olympic qualification games. However, when one player is involved in every goal her team scores, it poses some questions.
Clearly, Slovakia is not a one-woman show: Sumegova has performed heroics in net to keep her team in games, while the instinctive understanding between Lopusanova and Ema Tothova is what makes that Slovak line so dangerous to any opponent. But the key to a sustained, 60-minute threat is surely finding some secondary scoring. Slovakia has transformed its program to establish a place at this level; this could be the next step towards sustained success. (AP)
The power of four
In Switzerland, they like to start young. The Swiss roster in Vantaa features two players – captain Naemi Herzig and fellow forward Jael Manetsch – who are back for a fourth World U18s. They are the only 4-timers at this year’s championship – and you’d think that it would be an unusual achievement in any year.
However, the Swiss approach is a bit different. Herzig and Manetsch join nine other players who have featured in four top-division U18 Women's Worlds, with three more players playing on four rosters as Switzerland yo-yoed between the top two divisions.
Evidence suggests longevity at the junior level translates to senior success: Lisa Ruedi and Stephanie Wetli are already two-time Olympians at age 24, while Rahel Enlzer, Noemi Rhyner, Lara Christen and Nicole Vallario have all gone on to the Winter Games. Meanwhile, the legendary Alina Muller helped the Swiss win promotion to the top division during her four U18 Women's Worlds campaigns, and also has Olympic bronze from the first of her three trips to the Games back in 2014. (AP)
Discipline, discipline, discipline
The Canadians are the most penalized team in the tournament, taking 11 minor penalties in two games. Fortunately for Canada, their penalty kill has also been good, and they've only allowed one goal.
The Americans, on the other hand, have only played eight minutes shorthanded, and their penalty kill is still perfect so far. Those good habits may be critically important as we head towards the playoff stage. (RP)