VANTAA, Finland – Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team shut out Finland 7-0 in its lone pre-tournament game on New Year’s Day ahead of the 2025 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, Jan. 4-12, at Tikkurila Arena.
- Stryker Zablocki (Prince Albert, SK/Bishop Kearney, JWHL) led the offence with two goals and an assist.
- Kate Manness (La Salle, MB/Burlington, OWHA U22 Elite) and Riley Sorokan (Midhurst, ON/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite) both recorded the first international goals of their careers, and each added an assist.
- Rachel Piggott (Richmond Hill, ON/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite) chipped in with a pair of assists.
- Maxine Cimoroni (Toronto, ON/Mississauga, OWHA U22 Elite), Sofia Ismael (St. George, ON/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite) and Chloe Primerano (North Vancouver, BC/University of Minnesota, WCHA) rounded out the scoring.
- Lexie Bertelsen (Belmont, ON/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite), Danica Maynard (Osoyoos, BC/RHA Kelowna, CSSHL), Dorothy Copetti (Toronto, ON/Durham West, OWHA U22 Elite), Hayley McDonald (East St. Paul, MB/RHA Kelowna, CSSHL) and Sara Manness (La Salle, MB/Burlington, OWHA U22 Elite) had assists.
- Marilou Grenier (Québec, QC/Limoilou, RSEQ) made 14 saves before Amelia Wilkinson (Holland Landing, ON/Barrie, OWHA U22 Elite) entered the game with 6:06 remaining in the second period, making three saves to secure the shutout.
- Canada outshot Finland 58-17.
Next Game:
Canada vs. Slovakia – Saturday, Jan. 4 (1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT)
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 14 tournament games, including all Team Canada preliminary-round games, all four quarterfinals, both semifinals and the medal games; check local listings for details.
Quotes:
“We started with a lot of energy today. All of our players were excited to get going, so it was good to see a couple of the things that were important to us, like applying pressure and dictating the pace of the game early on. To continue finding success, we need to take things one day at a time, one game at a time and play an honest game. It will be important to stick within our structure and commit to the details of our game. Those little things will help us be successful,” shared head coach Vicky Sunohara (Scarborough, ON/University of Toronto, OUA) on the pre-tournament success.
“Scoring my first goal felt amazing. This is my first time representing Team Canada and I am taking it with so much pride. I have been dreaming about this my whole life, so to be able to score my first goal felt so good. We are settling in better as a team. We need to keep working hard, keep battling, use each other, avoid being selfish and we will continue finding success during the tournament,” explained Kate Manness on scoring her first international goal.
“[Securing the shutout] felt really special. As a returner now, I was a little nervous going into the net first. Getting the shutout gave me more confidence. [Amelia Wilkinson] was great today, which helped make our teammates feel more secure in front of us. We were pretty nervous at the start of the game, but we got better every period. We were positive and kept battling through every situation. We are all excited and in a positive mindset entering the tournament,” shared Grenier on playing through nerves.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, and by using #U18WomensWorlds.
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For more information, please contact:
Jacob Wolfenden
Coordinator, Communications
Hockey Canada
289.880.2469
jwolfenden@hockeycanada.ca