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Canada is through to the semifinals of the women’s world hockey championship, but not without facing a few anxious moments against Czechia.
Renata Fast’s second-period goal stood as the winner as Canada held off the Czechs 3-2 in the quarterfinals on Friday in Herning, Denmark.
“We have a lot of respect for Czechia; they played a great game,” Canada defender Erin Ambrose said. “I think we did a good job five-on-five; we had a lot of attempts on net, a lot of shots on net, but they played desperate and blocked a lot of shots.”
Sarah Fillier and Rebecca Leslie also scored for Canada, which went undefeated in four games with a plus-25 goal differential in pool play. Eve Gascon made 14 saves at KVIK Hockey Arena.
Kristýna Kaltounková replied with a pair of power-play goals, and Noemi Neubauerov tallied two assists as Czechia scored more than one goal against Canada for the first time in six encounters in all competitions.
Klara Peslarova stopped 38 shots in the Czech net.
“From the start, we wanted to set the standard of being physical, going hard on them, going to the net, but also being strong in our zone, and I think we did that well. I’m very proud of my team,” Kaltounková said. “It’s a testament to our team’s strength that we’re knocking on that door to beat the North American team.”
Renata Fast scored the eventual game-winning goal, as Canada defeated Czechia 3-2 to advance to the semifinals of the women’s world championship in Denmark.
Canada will face Sweden in Sunday’s semifinals. The Finns, who fell 2-0 to Canada in Group B action, blanked Germany 6-0 on Friday. Petra Nieminen had a goal and two assists.
After a goalless first period, Canada struck twice early in the second. Fillier scored 1:29 into the period when she pounced on a loose puck in front of the net, then Leslie ripped a wrist shot past Peslarova on the power play at 4:12.
Kaltounková scored on a net-front scramble to cut the deficit at 11:01, but Fast restored Canada’s two-goal lead with a point shot at four-on-four play before the period finished.
“I didn’t think it’d be the game-winner,” said Fast, Canada’s captain for the game. “I thought we’d keep it at 3-1 or score more goals, but I’m happy that it found its way to the back of the net.”
Kaltounková, who was selected first overall by the New York Sirens in the Professional Women’s Hockey League 2025 draft, beat Gascon off a rebound five minutes into the third period for her second of the game.
The 24-year-old later took an elbowing penalty, putting Canada on the power play with 83 seconds remaining.
U.S. 14, Denmark 0
Defending champion the United States marched into the semifinals in crushing host Denmark 14-0.
The U.S. stormed the ice from the start, jumping 5-0 up 7:54 into the game. It was 10-0 before the end of the middle period in the inaugural matchup between the teams.
The U.S. will play Finland in Sunday’s semifinals.
Taylor Fox set the pace by skating to the slot to score the opener 57 seconds in. Fox had a four-point game with three assists.
Caroline Harvey and Haley Winn finished with a couple of goals and three assists, Kelly Pannek scored twice and registered two assists, Hannah Bilka had a goal and two assists, Casey O’Brien, Grace Zumwinkle, Laila Edwards and Hayley Scamurra scored one with one assist each and Alex Carpenter and Jesse Compher netted one apiece for the high scoring U.S. team.
Gwyneth Philips made eight saves for the shutout.
Denmark pulled goalie Emma-Sofie Nordstrom before the final period after stopping 51 shots. Caroline Bjergstad made 20 saves.
The 85 shots on net by the U.S. set a single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 82 by the U.S. in 1997 in a 10-goal win over Sweden.
Sweden 1, Switzerland 0
In Esbjerg, a single goal by Sara Hjalmarsson against Switzerland was enough to send Sweden to the final four.
Earlier Friday, Austria retained its top division status by beating Japan 2-1 in overtime in a relegation match. Anna Meixner scored twice for Austria, which is playing among the best teams for the first time.
Source: www.cbc.ca
