Canadian forward Maddie McCullough struggles to force the puck over the line after another save from Czech goalie Daniela Novakova.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / Andrea Cardin
Canada secured top spot in Group B with a 5-0 victory over Czechia in Tuesday’s late game. This meeting was something of a revenge mission for the Canadians, who sensationally lost 2-4 to the Czechs in last year’s semi-final. That was the European country’s first win over North American opposition in this competition, and set up a first silver medal for Dusan Andrasovsky’s team.
Only five Canadian players returned from last year’s roster, and one of them opened the scoring after 80 seconds of the 2025 meeting. Stryker Zablocki settled any early nerves when she got a touch on Sydney Sawyer’s shot and sent the puck skidding between Daniela Novakova’s pads for the first of two goals for her.
“We played a great team game stuck to our habits," Zablocki said. "Both my goals were great shots from my teammates. Our defenders are amazing.”
Given that fast start, this game would obviously follow a different template. Something closer to the teams’ group stage encounter last time, when Canada eased to an 8-1 victory, perhaps?
Well, no. Far from opening the floodgates, the Canadians ran into a wall. That wall was called Novakova. The 17-year-old plays her club hockey in the Czech U17 boys’ league for Hvezda Prague, and she showed her star quality to deny further Canadian goals in the first period.
Novakova, an unused back-up 12 months ago, excelled. When Zablocki when clean through on goal, she had the answer. When Maddie McCullough was alone on the slot, she shut the door. And she repeatedly denying Sara Manness, most notably to nullify a two-on-zero rush late in the frame. Czechia was largely overmatched in the first period, but went to the locker room just one goal behind and still in the game.
The Czech challenge was to find some scoring. Just four attempts on Marilou Grenier’s net made it hard to see where a tying goal would come from. In the second period, there were slightly more looks and, on occasion, some genuine threat – witness Grenier stretching to hold on to a Sarlota Styblova point shot after rare spell of sustained Czech pressure.
“It’s hard to create chances," reflected head coach Dusan Andrasovsky. "Canada played great, they didn’t give us many chances to be aggressive in the offensive zone. We have to learn to be braver.
“We have to be aggressive in front of the net, but we’ll learn. This was a much better game than our games against Switzerland or Slovakia. I'm happy with that and proud of how they battled today.”
Most of the time, though, this was still the Novakova show. Canada kept probing, and the goalie kept saving until the 35th minute. Then, at last, there was a second goal and a measure of comfort for the pre-game favourite.
Alex Therien’s goal won’t go down as the prettiest at this tournament, despite some appealing stick-handling from Rosalie Tremblay in the build-up. But the evidence relief on the celebrating Canadian faces told how much it meant in the context of a game that started as a stroll but turned into a draining slog.
“At times we try to do a little too much, onto many passes, and we try to keep it simple. If we keep doing that and work hard, we’ll have some success in front of the net. We just have to do the little things well,” said Canada's head coach Vikcy Sunohara.
Two goals inside four minutes at the start of the third put the game out of reach. Zablocki potted her second of the night to make it 3-0. Chloe Primerano’s shot bounced around the crease and Zablocki, a natural goal scorer, was on the spot to bang it in. that was quickly followed by a fourth Canadian goal, this time from Sawyer, as the Czech resistance ran out of steam.
Canada added a fifth through Anais Leprohon. After that, the loudest cheers were for saves from Grenier as the Canadians withstood a five-on-three Czech power play to finish the group stage with a morale-boosting first shut-out in Vantaa, blanking its highest-ranked opponent in Group B.
After Tuesday's results, the confirmed quarter-final line-up is as follows:
Only five Canadian players returned from last year’s roster, and one of them opened the scoring after 80 seconds of the 2025 meeting. Stryker Zablocki settled any early nerves when she got a touch on Sydney Sawyer’s shot and sent the puck skidding between Daniela Novakova’s pads for the first of two goals for her.
“We played a great team game stuck to our habits," Zablocki said. "Both my goals were great shots from my teammates. Our defenders are amazing.”
Given that fast start, this game would obviously follow a different template. Something closer to the teams’ group stage encounter last time, when Canada eased to an 8-1 victory, perhaps?
Well, no. Far from opening the floodgates, the Canadians ran into a wall. That wall was called Novakova. The 17-year-old plays her club hockey in the Czech U17 boys’ league for Hvezda Prague, and she showed her star quality to deny further Canadian goals in the first period.
Novakova, an unused back-up 12 months ago, excelled. When Zablocki when clean through on goal, she had the answer. When Maddie McCullough was alone on the slot, she shut the door. And she repeatedly denying Sara Manness, most notably to nullify a two-on-zero rush late in the frame. Czechia was largely overmatched in the first period, but went to the locker room just one goal behind and still in the game.
The Czech challenge was to find some scoring. Just four attempts on Marilou Grenier’s net made it hard to see where a tying goal would come from. In the second period, there were slightly more looks and, on occasion, some genuine threat – witness Grenier stretching to hold on to a Sarlota Styblova point shot after rare spell of sustained Czech pressure.
“It’s hard to create chances," reflected head coach Dusan Andrasovsky. "Canada played great, they didn’t give us many chances to be aggressive in the offensive zone. We have to learn to be braver.
“We have to be aggressive in front of the net, but we’ll learn. This was a much better game than our games against Switzerland or Slovakia. I'm happy with that and proud of how they battled today.”
Most of the time, though, this was still the Novakova show. Canada kept probing, and the goalie kept saving until the 35th minute. Then, at last, there was a second goal and a measure of comfort for the pre-game favourite.
Alex Therien’s goal won’t go down as the prettiest at this tournament, despite some appealing stick-handling from Rosalie Tremblay in the build-up. But the evidence relief on the celebrating Canadian faces told how much it meant in the context of a game that started as a stroll but turned into a draining slog.
“At times we try to do a little too much, onto many passes, and we try to keep it simple. If we keep doing that and work hard, we’ll have some success in front of the net. We just have to do the little things well,” said Canada's head coach Vikcy Sunohara.
Two goals inside four minutes at the start of the third put the game out of reach. Zablocki potted her second of the night to make it 3-0. Chloe Primerano’s shot bounced around the crease and Zablocki, a natural goal scorer, was on the spot to bang it in. that was quickly followed by a fourth Canadian goal, this time from Sawyer, as the Czech resistance ran out of steam.
Canada added a fifth through Anais Leprohon. After that, the loudest cheers were for saves from Grenier as the Canadians withstood a five-on-three Czech power play to finish the group stage with a morale-boosting first shut-out in Vantaa, blanking its highest-ranked opponent in Group B.
After Tuesday's results, the confirmed quarter-final line-up is as follows:
- Sweden vs Switzerland (10am local time);
- USA vs Slovakia (1:30pm);
- Czechia vs Finland (5pm)
- Canada vs Japan (8:30pm).
Czechia vs Canada - 2025 IIHF u18 Women's World Championship
OF