Team Canada dominates U18 women’s hockey pit stop in Halifax
Finland loses to Canada 11-0 in pre-tournament game before Cape Breton
Halifax got another taste of elite women’s hockey on Jan. 7 when Canada defeated Finland 11-0 in a precursor to the 2026 IIHF U18 women’s world championship.
When both teams took the ice, they lined up on their designated blue lines and slapped their sticks on the ice all at once as if to signal the start of the tournament.
Canada came right out of the gate on the offensive, as their pressure forced the Finns to cough the puck up, including when Alida Korte hopped on a turnover and went in all alone before being turned away by the goaltender.
After Rosalie Tremblay’s speed and determination wore down Finland in their defensive zone for an entire shift, Megan Mossey crept down the right side to wire a wrist shot past Eerika Kujala. The 70 or so fans who drove from her hometown of Charlottetown shrieked at the top of their lungs.
“I don’t get to see them very much,” Mossey said. “So, it was awesome to have them here and support our team in Halifax. That was great.”
Korte got on the scoreboard with just under 1:45 left when she was sprung on a breakaway and tucked it past the goalie on her backhand. Before the end of the period, Hayley McDonald streaked down the right side, faked a couple of times before letting it go over the shoulder of Kujala.
After the first, when the dust had settled, Canada had a 3-0 stranglehold over Finland.
Chelsea Tiller notched the fourth goal less than three minutes into the new period before Maddie McCullough hopped on a rebound to make the difference five. Not two minutes later, Anaïs Leprohon found Rachel Piggott in front of the net, who instantly put the puck into the net.
The scoring slowed down for almost 10 minutes, but Adrianna Milani’s breakaway and Caileigh Tiller’s tip broke the silence to make it 8-0.
By the end of the second period, shots were 46-3 for Canada.
McDonald scored her second of the game a few minutes into the third period as the offensive onslaught continued. She then rounded out the hat trick while Piggott notched her second goal of the game.
After the third, the score was 11-0, but the teams played complimentary overtime and shootout periods for the crowd.
Tremblay attributed the performance to a long week of practice.
“[We] just trusted each other on what we can all do as a team, and I feel like it showed on the ice,” she said after the game.
