By The Canadian Press

Canada beats Czechia 8-1 to advance to U18 women’s world hockey championship final

Jan 17, 2026 | 6:13 PM

SYDNEY — Canada scored three times in the first 5:12 of the game and then coasted to an 8-1 win over Czechia in the Under-18 women’s world hockey championship semifinals on Saturday.

Maddie McCullough (2:06), Laurie Aubin (4:46) and Rachel Piggott (5:12) gave Canada an early lead that it would not relinquish, earning the defending champions a berth in Sunday’s gold-medal game against the United States, which flattened Sweden 9-1 in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Adrianna Milani scored twice in the third period for Canada, while Sofia Ismael, McCullough and Piggott also added goals in the final period. Eleven players recorded at least a point in the win. Ismael added three assists, giving her a team-leading 15 points through five games.

Lucie Sindelarova scored 41 seconds into the third period for Czechia to trim the deficit to 3-1, but that’s as close as Czechia came.

Canadian goaltender Lea-Rose Charrois stopped 20 shots to post her third win of the tournament. Canada outshot Czechia 37-21.

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“As a player and as a coach, there is nothing better than a Canada versus (the United States) final. We did not look ahead throughout the tournament, but now that we are (at the gold-medal stage), it is very exciting,” said Canadian coach Vicky Sunohara.

“We have been saying it all along, but we have to play the right way, keep things simple and stick to the details. The team that can play the closest to a full 60 minutes (on Sunday) will have the better opportunity and that is what we are focused on.”

POKE CHECKS: Following the game, Hayley McDonald, Rosalie Tremblay and Piggott were named Canada’s three best players of the tournament.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2026.

The Canadian Press