Canada's players rush to celebrate the opening goal in the gold medal game against the USA
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
21 games. 130 goals. 1,130 saves. All seen by more than 10,000 spectators in Vantaa. The 2025 IIHF Women's U18 World Championship was full of memorable moments. Here are 10 of our favourites from a great tournament.
1. The Czechs didn't just bring a great team, they brought a great choir too. The players belted out their national anthem with such passion and joy after every win that it was impossible not to join in. Even without knowing the words.
2. Tilde Sundnas Grillfors had one chance, two chances, three chances from the same spot in Sweden’s bronze medal game against Czechia, but it was her fourth shot, a true snipe, a laser, that gave the Swedish forward her first goal of the tournament.
3. Sweden’s Edit Danielsson scored four goals in the tournament, and yet, her biggest moment may have been swatting the puck from mid-air in front of the Swedish net to deny Japan an OT win in their group-stage game.
4. Stryker Labocki runs 100 meters in 10.63, and that speed was obvious on the ice. In the final, she scored the game-clinching third goal into an empty net, and won the scoring race.
5. Team USA goalie Morgan Strickney played all 180 minutes in the group stage and allowed zero goals. That’s the first time a single goalie has achieved it in a tournament, and her shut-out streak eventually reached a record 183:01.
6. Finland’s Yenna Kolmonen raised the roof in the Tikkurila arena when she went coast to coast and scored the game-winner against Japan.
7. Czechia captain Linda Vocetkova showed fantastic hand-eye coordination and leadership when she tipped in Johanna Tischler’s point shot for a bronze-medal winning goal.
8. For sheer joy and delight, it was hard to beat Japan’s Nanaho Yamagutchi jumping gleefully into the corner after she scored her team’s third against Sweden. Japan rarely gets ahead in games, and going up 3-1 was greeted with a mixture of excitement and disbelief.
9. Nela Lopusanova had another tournament to remember. She compiled 11 points on the way to her second MVP award. The most important of them? Surely her lightning breakaway in the relegation playoff win over Japan.
10. And finally, we could hardly overlook the tournament’s golden goal. In a tight final against the USA, Canada’s Caileigh Tiller rifled a one-timer through the five-hold to break the deadlock midway through the second period. The size of the celebrations told you it was a big moment, and it proved to be the foundation of Canada’s 3-0 victory.
1. The Czechs didn't just bring a great team, they brought a great choir too. The players belted out their national anthem with such passion and joy after every win that it was impossible not to join in. Even without knowing the words.
2. Tilde Sundnas Grillfors had one chance, two chances, three chances from the same spot in Sweden’s bronze medal game against Czechia, but it was her fourth shot, a true snipe, a laser, that gave the Swedish forward her first goal of the tournament.
3. Sweden’s Edit Danielsson scored four goals in the tournament, and yet, her biggest moment may have been swatting the puck from mid-air in front of the Swedish net to deny Japan an OT win in their group-stage game.
4. Stryker Labocki runs 100 meters in 10.63, and that speed was obvious on the ice. In the final, she scored the game-clinching third goal into an empty net, and won the scoring race.
5. Team USA goalie Morgan Strickney played all 180 minutes in the group stage and allowed zero goals. That’s the first time a single goalie has achieved it in a tournament, and her shut-out streak eventually reached a record 183:01.
6. Finland’s Yenna Kolmonen raised the roof in the Tikkurila arena when she went coast to coast and scored the game-winner against Japan.
7. Czechia captain Linda Vocetkova showed fantastic hand-eye coordination and leadership when she tipped in Johanna Tischler’s point shot for a bronze-medal winning goal.
8. For sheer joy and delight, it was hard to beat Japan’s Nanaho Yamagutchi jumping gleefully into the corner after she scored her team’s third against Sweden. Japan rarely gets ahead in games, and going up 3-1 was greeted with a mixture of excitement and disbelief.
9. Nela Lopusanova had another tournament to remember. She compiled 11 points on the way to her second MVP award. The most important of them? Surely her lightning breakaway in the relegation playoff win over Japan.
10. And finally, we could hardly overlook the tournament’s golden goal. In a tight final against the USA, Canada’s Caileigh Tiller rifled a one-timer through the five-hold to break the deadlock midway through the second period. The size of the celebrations told you it was a big moment, and it proved to be the foundation of Canada’s 3-0 victory.