Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin (#29) continued her torrid pace with two goals in a 7-1 rout of the host Czechs at the 2025 Women's Worlds.
In a wild atmosphere, captain Marie-Philip Poulin and Kristin O'Neill each scored twice as Canada finished second in Group A with a 7-1 thumping of host Czechia on Monday.
The Czechs played two strong periods for their ardent fans before surrendering five goals in the third period. A three-goal explosion in 58 seconds early in the third secured the win for the defending champs, who outshot Czechia 43-19. The Czechs failed to score on four power play chances.
"The environment was amazing," said Poulin. "It was loud out there. But I would say our first two periods, we struggled a little bit. They were strong. They had a couple chances where 'Soupy' [goalie Kristen Campbell] kept us in and in the third, we were able to manage. We had a lot of pucks on the net. We were able to capitalize, and we're happy we got that win."
In Thursday’s quarter-finals, the Canadians will face the second-place team in Group B. The Czechs are fourth in Group A and will take on the fifth-place Swiss, whom they beat 3-0 on Day One.
The Czechs are two-time bronze medalists (2022, 2023) and are hungry to return to the podium this year on home ice. This was a strong contender for the most physical game ever played between a European team and a North American team in IIHF women’s hockey history.
"[If the European nations] can play more physical, it adds another layer to the game for us, and it slows down plays a little bit, because you get so much pressure on you," said Canada's Renata Fast. "But it’s a fun way to play the game."
Poulin not only added to her tournament scoring lead (3+5=8), but also moved into second place in all-time Women’s Worlds points for Canada (38+47=85), one point behind Hayley Wickenheiser and two ahead of Jayna Hefford.
Canadian coach Troy Ryan continued shuffling the deck. Campbell, his Toronto Sceptres starter, appeared in her first game since the opening 5-0 shutout over Finland. Forward Julia Gosling – a 2024 Women’s Worlds gold medalist – saw her first Ceske Budejovice action in place of her veteran Toronto Sceptres teammate Natalie Spooner. Meanwhile, defender Micah Zandee-Hart returned after a one-game absence to replace wunderkind Chloe Primerano, a fellow British Columbian.
Czech coach Carla MacLeod also did some juggling, including dropping Natalie Mlynkova to the fourth line and moving Michael Pejzlova up to play with sniper Tereza Vanisova and Denise Krizova.
The Czechs came out with speed in front of a charged-up sellout crowd of 5,859 at Arena Ceske Budejovice, pushing the champs to match their intensity. Poulin drew first blood on Canada’s sixth shot, putting a rebound past Peslarova at 3:20.
The Czechs struck back at 5:25. Seconds after Campbell denied an onrushing Kristyna Kaltounkova’s high shot from the right side, Adela Sapovalivova capitalized on a Canadian turnover on the breakout. powered to the net, and shoveled a backhander through the goalie’s legs. Joyful pandemonium reigned.
"It was nice, of course, but I would rather that we won and I didn't score," said Sapovalivova. "But at least it's good to score. It was a nice forecheck from my linemates, and I just did the last detail."
At 18, Sapovalivova already has two U18 Women’s Worlds all-star berths and two Women’s Worlds bronze medals to her name, and her reputation continues to grow. Prior to this goal, Mlynkova (in 2023) was the lone Czech ever to score on Canada at this tournament.
The Czechs got more aggressive on their forecheck, and Vanisova showed off her blazing speed and quick release. Peslarova delivered huge close-range stops on Sarah Nurse and Emily Clark to preserve the tie through 20 minutes despite an 18-8 Canadian edge in shots.
Early in the second period, thrilling solo forays by Thompson and Tereza Plosova came to naught. The teams battled for every square centimetre of ice.
Poulin provided more magic at 7:13. Following extended Canadian zone time, the three-time Olympic gold medalist got the puck in the right faceoff circle from Laura Stacey, who made a great backhanded pass while falling behind the goal line. Poulin zapped one under the crossbar short side for a 2-1 lead.
"Great play all around," Poulin said. "The line before us created momentum in the O-zone, and we were able to get that change on. It was a great play by Laura. She saw me and I was able to put it in."
Near the midway mark, Nurse went off for boarding Krizova in the corner. Czechia's third power play almost proved the charm as Kaltounkova blasted one off Campbell’s left post.
In the third period, the Czechs started off hot again. Mlynkova dipsy-doodled past Canadian defenders and tested Campbell high. However, a too-many-players-on-the-ice penalty at 3:50 would lead to Czechia's undoing.
First, Daryl Watts blasted a PP goal from Leon Draisaitl's favourite spot low in the right faceoff circle at 5:42. Twenty-seven seconds later, O'Neill scored from a scrum in front to make it 4-1. When Jennifer Gardiner added the fifth Canadian goal 31 seconds after that, MacLeod had seen enough and pulled the beleaguered Peslarova in favour of Michaela Heslova, whose lone previous start was the 4-0 loss to the Americans.
The roof had fallen in, and there was no quick rebuild in store. O'Neill put Canada up 6-1 off the rush at 8:05, and Sophie Jaques rounded out the scoring at 14:17.
Poulin was especially pleased for O'Neill, who has had a slow year offensively with the Sceptres: "I was very excited. Honestly, I was in the penalty box [for the 6-1 goal due to coincidental roughing minors with Kaltounkova], and I was jumping up and down. She was rewarded tonight. Honestly, she's been working hard all year long, and she's been grinding it out. To see that happening on the world stage, I'm truly happy for her."
Canada also won all three of its previous Women’s Worlds games against Czechia: 5-1 in 2023 and 5-0 and 4-0 (in the semi-finals) in 2024.
Still, Mlynkova found solace in her team's resilience for the majority of this game: "It’s huge. Even talking in the locker room, it’s a massive step forward for us. Five years ago we weren’t even able to keep up with them for 10 minutes and now we played an even game for 50. It wasn’t like we were locked in our zone the whole time, it was going back and forth, we had some good looks too. It was really exciting to see them frustrated too."
The Czechs played two strong periods for their ardent fans before surrendering five goals in the third period. A three-goal explosion in 58 seconds early in the third secured the win for the defending champs, who outshot Czechia 43-19. The Czechs failed to score on four power play chances.
"The environment was amazing," said Poulin. "It was loud out there. But I would say our first two periods, we struggled a little bit. They were strong. They had a couple chances where 'Soupy' [goalie Kristen Campbell] kept us in and in the third, we were able to manage. We had a lot of pucks on the net. We were able to capitalize, and we're happy we got that win."
In Thursday’s quarter-finals, the Canadians will face the second-place team in Group B. The Czechs are fourth in Group A and will take on the fifth-place Swiss, whom they beat 3-0 on Day One.
The Czechs are two-time bronze medalists (2022, 2023) and are hungry to return to the podium this year on home ice. This was a strong contender for the most physical game ever played between a European team and a North American team in IIHF women’s hockey history.
"[If the European nations] can play more physical, it adds another layer to the game for us, and it slows down plays a little bit, because you get so much pressure on you," said Canada's Renata Fast. "But it’s a fun way to play the game."
Poulin not only added to her tournament scoring lead (3+5=8), but also moved into second place in all-time Women’s Worlds points for Canada (38+47=85), one point behind Hayley Wickenheiser and two ahead of Jayna Hefford.
Canadian coach Troy Ryan continued shuffling the deck. Campbell, his Toronto Sceptres starter, appeared in her first game since the opening 5-0 shutout over Finland. Forward Julia Gosling – a 2024 Women’s Worlds gold medalist – saw her first Ceske Budejovice action in place of her veteran Toronto Sceptres teammate Natalie Spooner. Meanwhile, defender Micah Zandee-Hart returned after a one-game absence to replace wunderkind Chloe Primerano, a fellow British Columbian.
SIGN-UP FOR IIHF.TV TO WATCH CZECHIA VS CANADA: GAME HIGHLIGHTS | CONDENSED GAME
Czech coach Carla MacLeod also did some juggling, including dropping Natalie Mlynkova to the fourth line and moving Michael Pejzlova up to play with sniper Tereza Vanisova and Denise Krizova.
The Czechs came out with speed in front of a charged-up sellout crowd of 5,859 at Arena Ceske Budejovice, pushing the champs to match their intensity. Poulin drew first blood on Canada’s sixth shot, putting a rebound past Peslarova at 3:20.
The Czechs struck back at 5:25. Seconds after Campbell denied an onrushing Kristyna Kaltounkova’s high shot from the right side, Adela Sapovalivova capitalized on a Canadian turnover on the breakout. powered to the net, and shoveled a backhander through the goalie’s legs. Joyful pandemonium reigned.
"It was nice, of course, but I would rather that we won and I didn't score," said Sapovalivova. "But at least it's good to score. It was a nice forecheck from my linemates, and I just did the last detail."
At 18, Sapovalivova already has two U18 Women’s Worlds all-star berths and two Women’s Worlds bronze medals to her name, and her reputation continues to grow. Prior to this goal, Mlynkova (in 2023) was the lone Czech ever to score on Canada at this tournament.
The Czechs got more aggressive on their forecheck, and Vanisova showed off her blazing speed and quick release. Peslarova delivered huge close-range stops on Sarah Nurse and Emily Clark to preserve the tie through 20 minutes despite an 18-8 Canadian edge in shots.
Early in the second period, thrilling solo forays by Thompson and Tereza Plosova came to naught. The teams battled for every square centimetre of ice.
Poulin provided more magic at 7:13. Following extended Canadian zone time, the three-time Olympic gold medalist got the puck in the right faceoff circle from Laura Stacey, who made a great backhanded pass while falling behind the goal line. Poulin zapped one under the crossbar short side for a 2-1 lead.
"Great play all around," Poulin said. "The line before us created momentum in the O-zone, and we were able to get that change on. It was a great play by Laura. She saw me and I was able to put it in."
Near the midway mark, Nurse went off for boarding Krizova in the corner. Czechia's third power play almost proved the charm as Kaltounkova blasted one off Campbell’s left post.
In the third period, the Czechs started off hot again. Mlynkova dipsy-doodled past Canadian defenders and tested Campbell high. However, a too-many-players-on-the-ice penalty at 3:50 would lead to Czechia's undoing.
First, Daryl Watts blasted a PP goal from Leon Draisaitl's favourite spot low in the right faceoff circle at 5:42. Twenty-seven seconds later, O'Neill scored from a scrum in front to make it 4-1. When Jennifer Gardiner added the fifth Canadian goal 31 seconds after that, MacLeod had seen enough and pulled the beleaguered Peslarova in favour of Michaela Heslova, whose lone previous start was the 4-0 loss to the Americans.
The roof had fallen in, and there was no quick rebuild in store. O'Neill put Canada up 6-1 off the rush at 8:05, and Sophie Jaques rounded out the scoring at 14:17.
Poulin was especially pleased for O'Neill, who has had a slow year offensively with the Sceptres: "I was very excited. Honestly, I was in the penalty box [for the 6-1 goal due to coincidental roughing minors with Kaltounkova], and I was jumping up and down. She was rewarded tonight. Honestly, she's been working hard all year long, and she's been grinding it out. To see that happening on the world stage, I'm truly happy for her."
Canada also won all three of its previous Women’s Worlds games against Czechia: 5-1 in 2023 and 5-0 and 4-0 (in the semi-finals) in 2024.
Still, Mlynkova found solace in her team's resilience for the majority of this game: "It’s huge. Even talking in the locker room, it’s a massive step forward for us. Five years ago we weren’t even able to keep up with them for 10 minutes and now we played an even game for 50. It wasn’t like we were locked in our zone the whole time, it was going back and forth, we had some good looks too. It was really exciting to see them frustrated too."