Hockey·ROUNDUP
Marie-Philip Poulin and Kristin O’Neill each scored twice for Canada in a 7-1 win over host Czech Republic at the women’s world hockey championship Monday in Ceske Budejovice.
Will face Germany or Japan in Thursday quarterfinals; Germans, Finns also win MondayDonna Spencer · The Canadian Press
· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 10:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago
Brianne Jenner, bottom, and her Canadian teammates took down Kristyna Kaltounkova, top, and host Czech Republic 7-1 in the final preliminary-round game for both teams in Ceske Budejovice on Monday. (Vaclav Pancer/CTK via Associated Press)Marie-Philip Poulin and Kristin O’Neill each scored twice for Canada in a 7-1 win over host Czech Republic at the women’s world hockey championship Monday in Ceske Budejovice.
Daryl Watts, Sophie Jaques and Jennifer Gardiner also scored for the defending champions, who capped Pool A with a 3-1 record and will face Pool B’s second seed, either German or Japan, in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Canadian goalie Kristen Campbell made 18 saves for her second win of the tournament after a shutout against Finland to start the championship.
Adela Sapovalivova scored for the Czechs (1-3). Czech goalie Klara Peslarova of the PWHL’s Boston Fleet was replaced by Michaela Hesova in the third period after Canada’s three-goal burst.
Peslarova allowed five goals on 33 shots, while Hesova stopped eight of 10 shots in relief.
The Czechs, galvanized by the raucous support of a full house at Budvar Arena, weren’t intimidated by the defending champions in just the fourth game between the two countries at the women’s championship.
WATCH | 5 Canadian players score in 7-1 drubbing of Czech Republic:
Canada crushes host nation Czech Republic at world championship
arie-Philip Poulin and Kristin O’Neill each scored twice and Sophie Jaques had her first career goal at a world championship as Canada defeated Czech Republic 7-1 Monday.
They posed a stout challenge for two periods before they imploded in the third. When Canadians went hard to the net hunting rebounds, the Czechs made them pay a physical price for it for 40 minutes.
Poulin’s two goals for a career 38 in world championships elevated her to second all-time by a Canadian behind Jayna Hefford’s 40. Canada’s captain also reached 85 points behind Hayley Wickenheiser’s Canadian record of 86.
Up 2-1 heading into the third, Canada exploded for three goals in a span of 58 seconds starting at 5:42, which chased Peslarova.
O’Neill then scored her second of the game off the rush on an Emma Maltais feed at 8:05 and Jaques collected her first world championship goal at 14:17.
Watts started the three-goal onslaught dropping to her knee for a one-timer top corner on a power play, followed by O’Neill shovelling in her own rebound in a goal-mouth scramble and Gardiner lofting a loose puck over Peslarova.
Laura Stacey, on her knees behind the goal line, got a backhand pass away to Poulin, who beat Peslarova short side for a go-ahead goal at 7:13 of the second period.
Erin Ambrose, appearing in her 100th game for Canada, helped Campbell out during a second-period Czech power play when the defender swept the puck out of the crease behind her goalie.
Poulin strikes early from close rangeWhen Poulin scored her first at 3:20 of the first period, the Czechs countered just over two minutes later. Sapovalivova intercepted a Jaques pass in Canada’s zone and beat Campbell with a backhand at 5:25.
Poulin kickstarted Canada’s first goal of the game by rushing the puck into the zone with her PWHL Montreal Victoire linemates Stacey and Gardiner. Poulin converted a rebound from close range.
The tournament’s top five seeds in Pool A and the top three finishers in Pool B advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals. The semifinals are Saturday followed by Sunday’s medal games.
Germany and Japan square off Tuesday for second in Pool B. The U.S. (3-0) was first in Pool A with a game remaining Tuesday against Switzerland (0-3). The Americans will meet Pool B’s third seed.
Pool B’s winner Sweden (3-0) takes on Finland (2-2), while the Czechs versus the Swiss were the two quarterfinal matchups set Monday.
The Czech Republic, coached by former Canadian defender Carla MacLeod, has nine PWHL players on its roster behind Canada (23) and the United States (14). The Czechs earned bronze medals in 2022 and 2023 and lost that game to the Finns last year in Utica, N.Y.
Canadian forward Julia Gosling played her first game of the tournament and Micah Zandee-Hart drew back into the lineup Monday. Natalie Spooner, Chloe Primerano and goaltender Eve Gascon were Canada’s scratches.
As of Monday, the tournament’s aggregate attendance of almost 70,000 was the most at a women’s world championship in Europe. It surpassed the 51,247 fans who attended all games in Espoo, Finland, in 2019.
Germany 4, Hungary 1Germany handed Hungary a fourth straight loss, winning 4-1 to ensure its opponent will be relegated back to the lower division.
Nicola Hadraschek scored twice, Laura Kluge had a goal and two assists and Katarina Jobst-Smith also scored to give Germany a second win in Group B in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Emma Kreisz scored Hungary’s first goal of the tournament.
Germany will play its final group stage game against Japan on Tuesday.
The tournament’s top five seeds in Pool A and the top three in Pool B advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
The U.S. will meet the third seed in Pool B. Should Canada prevail over the Czechs, it would face Pool B’s second seed.
The women’s championship will revert to “snake seeding” of its pools in 2026 to match the men’s under-20 and men’s and women’s under-18 championships.
Canada seeks its 14th world title.
Finland 2, Switzerland 1Finland defeated Switzerland 2-1 for its second victory.
Ronja Savolainen scored a short-handed goal midway through the opening period and Michelle Karvinen doubled the lead in the second.
Alina Muller answered with the first Swiss goal at the tournament after previous losses to the Czech Republic and Canada.
Switzerland plays one more game in Group A against the United States on Tuesday.
With files from CBC Sports
