Thorold, Ontario – Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team and Canada’s National Women’s Development Team fell 4-3 in a shootout and 7-1, respectively, to close out their three-game series against the United States at Canada Games Park.
United States 4, Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team 3 (SO)
- Stryker Zablocki (Prince Albert, SK/Bishop Kearney Selects, NEPack) notched a power-play goal in the first period and scored again to send the game to overtime with 58 seconds left in the third.
- Sade Sandilands (Carstairs, AB/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite) opened the scoring with the first goal of her international career.
- Maxine Cimoroni (Toronto, ON/Mississauga, OWHA U22 Elite), Chloe Primerano (North Vancouver, BC/University of Minnesota, WCHA) and Sofia Ismael (St. George, ON/Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite) each chipped in with an assist.
- Alyssa Barrette (Calgary, AB/NWCAA Bruins, ABU18AAA) made 20 saves and turned aside four attempts in the shootout.
- Canada outshot the United States 30-23.
Quotes:
“We were relentless tonight. We did not shut down even when it was 3-2—we came back and got that goal at the end to keep us alive. There was a little scrum at the end, and I think we all touched the puck and tried to whack it in. It needed to happen, so it was awesome to see the puck go in the net. Our team has grown so much; we have got much closer over the past week and we have all gotten much better together. It is going to be awesome moving forward now because we are all so close after this series.” said Zablocki.
“What we saw today was a lot of resiliency at the end of the game. Maybe we did not play the two best periods of hockey that we wanted at the start, but we had a push in the third and our girls did a really good job of getting that late game-tying goal. The players got one per cent better every day through this series. One of the most important things from the series is all the team habits that the players learned. It is important for them to take these back to their club teams and into their communities. The better the competition is for everyone, the more competitive it makes the sport and improves the individual player.” said assistant coach Stefanie McKeough (Carlsbad Springs, ON/Boston, PWHL).
United States 7, Canada’s National Women’s Development Team 1
- Sarah Wozniewicz (Cochrane, AB/University of Wisconsin, WCHA) provided the lone goal for Canada.
- Avi Adam (Wolfville, NS/Cornell University, ECAC) had an assist.
- Hannah Murphy (Kingston, ON/Colgate University, ECAC) made 33 saves.
- Canada recorded 19 shots on goal.
Quotes:
“This is a special group in our locker room, they really believe in themselves. Obviously, this was not the outcome we wanted, but we proved that we can play with the best and proudly represent our country. This series is huge for our player development. We had a chance to talk a lot throughout the week to the players as they are Team Canada’s future. Our players took every concept that we threw at them and they did it together. It was fun to watch our players on the ice this week.” said assistant coach Tara Watchorn (Newcastle, ON/Boston University, HEA).
“It was not our best game, but overall, this whole series we came out and pushed hard against the Americans. We got one win—obviously not the outcome we wanted, but hopefully we will learn from it for the future. Every game you have to be ready, the Americans are coming at us super hard. The skill level is at its peak here, so you need be ready for every puck drop.” said Wozniewicz.
Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team will take the ice next at the 2025 IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championship from January 4-12 in Vantaa, Finland.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Program, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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