Canada’s undefeated streak at the Under-18 women’s world hockey championship was broken in the gold-medal match against the United States. The American team, led by goals from Emily Pohl and Lindsay Stepnowski along with two assists from Talla Hansen, secured a 2-0 victory to claim the gold medal. Bianca Birrittieri, the U.S. goaltender, made 38 saves to earn a shutout, while Lea-Rose Charrois, in the Canadian net, stopped 25 shots.
Pohl opened the scoring for the U.S. at 14:08 of the first period, followed by Stepnowski extending the lead at 18:17 of the second period. In the bronze-medal final, the Czech Republic triumphed over Sweden with a 4-3 victory.
During the preliminary round in Group A, Canada dominated with a perfect 3-0 record, defeating Switzerland 9-0, Hungary 14-0, and Sweden 9-2. Subsequently, in the knockout stages, Canada continued its winning ways, overpowering Finland 12-0 in the quarterfinals and Czech Republic 8-1 in the semifinals.