Can Canada defend its 2025 gold medal on home soil on Sunday?
photo: IIHF / Andrea Cardin
You can almost set your watch by it. For the 15th time in 18 years, Canada and the United States will meet in the final of the 2026 edition of the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship at Centre 200 in Sydney on Sunday.
All told, the Americans have the championship edge, with nine golds compared to eight for Canada. Head-to-head in the gold-medal game, Canada and the U.S. have each won seven times.
But the Canadians have the most recent win, a 3-0 shutout in Vantaa in 2025. They’ll be looking to level the score in front of their home fans in Nova Scotia when the puck drops at 19:30 local time.
The last U.S. gold came against Czechia in 2024. The last time the Americans beat Canada in the gold-medal game, Kiara Zanon was the overtime hero in a 2-1 victory in Bratislava in 2020.
If the summer series between the two teams in Lake Placid, N.Y. was any indication, Sunday’s game will be lower-scoring than what we’ve seen so far in Nova Scotia. The Canadians opened with a 4-1 win in that series before the Americans responded with 3-2 and 3-1 victories.
In Cape Breton this week, both teams have made it to the end by dominating their opponents in historic fashion.
The United States outscored its opponents 54-2, allowing one goal against in two games and earning three shutouts along the way.
Playing in her second U18 event at 16, Jane Daley has set a new single-tournament record with 12 goals. And with shutouts in both her games this year, Morgan Stickney holds a new all-time record with five clean sheets across two tournaments.
U.S. coach Courtney Kennedy declined to name her gold-medal game starter on Saturday, after Bianca Birrittieri earned the 9-1 semi-final win over Sweden in her third start.
“I think all three of our goalies are starters,” Kennedy said. “We go with what we go with. Sometimes it's a little bit of gut, but I wouldn't bat an eye to any one of them being in that game and being successful in it.”
The Americans also have an opportunity to do something that no team has ever done before at this level: earn the ‘Perfect Gold’ designation by going wire-to-wire without ever trailing in a game or being tied beyond 0-0.
The Canadians can’t say the same. Though their aggregate scoreline of 52-3 over five games looks similar, they lost their shot at ‘Perfect Gold’ when they gave up the first goal to Sweden in the preliminary round last Tuesday.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Vicky Sunohara’s group showed its ability to address adversity by responding with three quick goals to take control of that game on their way to a 9-2 win. And while the memory of their 4-2 semi-final loss to Czechia in 2024 is still vivid, the Canadians responded in a similar way when the Czechs cut their lead to 3-1 with a shorthanded goal early in the third-period of Saturday’s semi-final. It took less than five minutes for them to put three more goals on the board, effectively sealing their gold-medal berth.
"We spoke in the beginning about getting better every day" Sunohara said. "It's always challenging, bringing a group together that has never played together. But we've learned and we've grown, so we're excited now."
The Canadians also have options in goal. Rowan Houweling has shutouts in both games that she has played, while Lea-Rose Charrois got the nod in the semi-final for her third start of the tournament. Recording her second assist against the Czechs on Saturday, Charrois became the first goaltender ever to record multiple helpers in a single WW18 year.
Other players on both teams are also within reach of single-tournament milestones.
Adrianna Milani’s 10 goals have tied the Canadian single-tournament record, and she’s two behind Daley for the IIHF mark.
With 12 assists, Kylie Amelkovich of the United States is one back of Amanda Kessel’s all-time record of 13 from 2009. Chyna Taylor is the closest Canadian, with 10 assists.
Kessel also holds the total-points record, at 19. With 17 points, Daley is the closest to matching that mark. For Canada, Sofia Ismael’s 15 points so far put her one back of Chloe Primerano’s national record of 16.
With 52 goals on 273 shots, Canada holds the highest shooting efficiency in the tournament at 19.05 percent. The U.S. is right behind. Their 54 goals on 296 shots work out to 18.24 percent.
Canada’s 52 goals are also a program record, beating their previous high of 47 from the first WW18 in 2008.
Both teams have scored 11 power-play goals so far. Team USA has the better efficiency at 52.38 percent off 21 chances, while Canada has generated 26 extra-player opportunities for 42.31 percent efficiency.
The Canadians’ penalty killing has been perfect at 8-for-8 while the Americans haven’t given up a single goal at full strength in this tournament. They were shorthanded 18 times, and the only two times they were scored on were during player disadvantages.
Both teams have scored once while shorthanded. Canada also gave up a shorthanded goal to Czechia.
Bottom line: there isn’t much to choose between these two North American squads, who have been arguably more dominant than ever in 2026. Buckle up for what should be a hard-fought finish!
Earlier on Sunday (15:30 local time), the Czechs will look to reach the podium for the third year in a row as they face Sweden in the bronze-medal game. Czechia currently has one silver medal and three bronzes in tournament history. The Swedes have two silvers and five bronzes.
Sweden’s most recent medal win was their silver in 2023.
Last year, the Czechs prevailed by a 2-1 score in the bronze-medal game in Vantaa.
Tilde Grillfors, who leads her team with four goals in 2026, opened the scoring in the second period of that game for Sweden, then Czechia replied with two goals in the third period to claim the win.
Czech returnees Johanna Tischler and Lucie Sindelarova, who were both named among their country’s top three players this year, drew the assists on Linda Vocetkova’s game-winner. It came with 6:18 remaining in the third period.
All told, the Americans have the championship edge, with nine golds compared to eight for Canada. Head-to-head in the gold-medal game, Canada and the U.S. have each won seven times.
But the Canadians have the most recent win, a 3-0 shutout in Vantaa in 2025. They’ll be looking to level the score in front of their home fans in Nova Scotia when the puck drops at 19:30 local time.
The last U.S. gold came against Czechia in 2024. The last time the Americans beat Canada in the gold-medal game, Kiara Zanon was the overtime hero in a 2-1 victory in Bratislava in 2020.
If the summer series between the two teams in Lake Placid, N.Y. was any indication, Sunday’s game will be lower-scoring than what we’ve seen so far in Nova Scotia. The Canadians opened with a 4-1 win in that series before the Americans responded with 3-2 and 3-1 victories.
In Cape Breton this week, both teams have made it to the end by dominating their opponents in historic fashion.
The United States outscored its opponents 54-2, allowing one goal against in two games and earning three shutouts along the way.
Playing in her second U18 event at 16, Jane Daley has set a new single-tournament record with 12 goals. And with shutouts in both her games this year, Morgan Stickney holds a new all-time record with five clean sheets across two tournaments.
U.S. coach Courtney Kennedy declined to name her gold-medal game starter on Saturday, after Bianca Birrittieri earned the 9-1 semi-final win over Sweden in her third start.
“I think all three of our goalies are starters,” Kennedy said. “We go with what we go with. Sometimes it's a little bit of gut, but I wouldn't bat an eye to any one of them being in that game and being successful in it.”
The Americans also have an opportunity to do something that no team has ever done before at this level: earn the ‘Perfect Gold’ designation by going wire-to-wire without ever trailing in a game or being tied beyond 0-0.
The Canadians can’t say the same. Though their aggregate scoreline of 52-3 over five games looks similar, they lost their shot at ‘Perfect Gold’ when they gave up the first goal to Sweden in the preliminary round last Tuesday.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Vicky Sunohara’s group showed its ability to address adversity by responding with three quick goals to take control of that game on their way to a 9-2 win. And while the memory of their 4-2 semi-final loss to Czechia in 2024 is still vivid, the Canadians responded in a similar way when the Czechs cut their lead to 3-1 with a shorthanded goal early in the third-period of Saturday’s semi-final. It took less than five minutes for them to put three more goals on the board, effectively sealing their gold-medal berth.
"We spoke in the beginning about getting better every day" Sunohara said. "It's always challenging, bringing a group together that has never played together. But we've learned and we've grown, so we're excited now."
The Canadians also have options in goal. Rowan Houweling has shutouts in both games that she has played, while Lea-Rose Charrois got the nod in the semi-final for her third start of the tournament. Recording her second assist against the Czechs on Saturday, Charrois became the first goaltender ever to record multiple helpers in a single WW18 year.
Other players on both teams are also within reach of single-tournament milestones.
Adrianna Milani’s 10 goals have tied the Canadian single-tournament record, and she’s two behind Daley for the IIHF mark.
With 12 assists, Kylie Amelkovich of the United States is one back of Amanda Kessel’s all-time record of 13 from 2009. Chyna Taylor is the closest Canadian, with 10 assists.
Kessel also holds the total-points record, at 19. With 17 points, Daley is the closest to matching that mark. For Canada, Sofia Ismael’s 15 points so far put her one back of Chloe Primerano’s national record of 16.
With 52 goals on 273 shots, Canada holds the highest shooting efficiency in the tournament at 19.05 percent. The U.S. is right behind. Their 54 goals on 296 shots work out to 18.24 percent.
Canada’s 52 goals are also a program record, beating their previous high of 47 from the first WW18 in 2008.
Both teams have scored 11 power-play goals so far. Team USA has the better efficiency at 52.38 percent off 21 chances, while Canada has generated 26 extra-player opportunities for 42.31 percent efficiency.
The Canadians’ penalty killing has been perfect at 8-for-8 while the Americans haven’t given up a single goal at full strength in this tournament. They were shorthanded 18 times, and the only two times they were scored on were during player disadvantages.
Both teams have scored once while shorthanded. Canada also gave up a shorthanded goal to Czechia.
Bottom line: there isn’t much to choose between these two North American squads, who have been arguably more dominant than ever in 2026. Buckle up for what should be a hard-fought finish!
Earlier on Sunday (15:30 local time), the Czechs will look to reach the podium for the third year in a row as they face Sweden in the bronze-medal game. Czechia currently has one silver medal and three bronzes in tournament history. The Swedes have two silvers and five bronzes.
Sweden’s most recent medal win was their silver in 2023.
Last year, the Czechs prevailed by a 2-1 score in the bronze-medal game in Vantaa.
Tilde Grillfors, who leads her team with four goals in 2026, opened the scoring in the second period of that game for Sweden, then Czechia replied with two goals in the third period to claim the win.
Czech returnees Johanna Tischler and Lucie Sindelarova, who were both named among their country’s top three players this year, drew the assists on Linda Vocetkova’s game-winner. It came with 6:18 remaining in the third period.