The preliminary round is complete, and the quarter-final matchups are set at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Friday’s early slate will feature Canada taking on Czechia and Finland battling Germany, while the two late games will feature the United States facing Denmark and Sweden clashing with Switzerland.
Canada looks to continue a perfect run in their quarter-final game after rolling through the preliminary round. The Canadians outscored their first three opponents (Japan, Denmark, Sweden) by a combined score of 24-1 before finishing the round-robin with a solid 2-0 win over Finland.
“It was a big step up from the last couple of games,” explained Canada forward Caitlin Kraemer following the win. “We knew Finland would come at us hard, with their usual intensity and aggressiveness. There were some ups and downs, but we stuck together and got the win.”
Canada (4-0-0-0) finished first in Group B and will battle a Czech squad that placed fourth in Group A. Jessie Eldridge leads Canada with three goals and seven points in four games and is tied for third in tournament scoring. Kraemer and Kendall Cooper have chipped in five points apiece.
“We expect another hard game, they’re just going to get harder from here. We’ll rise up to the occasion,” Kraemer said of the matchup against Denmark.
The Canadian power play has been humming thus far, going 6-for-12 in their four games.
Ann-Renee Desbiens will likely start Friday’s game after posting a .974 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average in her two preliminary-round starts, including a 25-save shutout against Finland.
Czechia (1-0-2-1) earned an opening-day win over Austria before an overtime loss to Switzerland, a shootout loss to Germany and an 8-1 setback to the United States.
Katerina Mrazova leads Czechia with two goals and four points in the tournament.
“We have to carry the mentality from this game over to the Canada game, and if we do that, I’m sure we’ll give them a hard time,” said Czech forward Kristyna Kaltounkova following their loss to the United States on Wednesday.
The Americans’ quest to defend its gold medal begins against Denmark. The USA finished atop Group A with a perfect record and scored 31 goals to just two allowed in wins over Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Czechia.
Blueliner Caroline Harvey leads the tournament with nine points, while forward Hilary Knight has potted six goals in four games, three more than any other player.
“I think we played really well in the group phase, and we’ll just have to keep concentrated and motivated going into the next phase of the tournament,” Knight said.
“It will be fun to be up against Denmark in the quarters. Hopefully we’ll meet a packed arena in Herning,” said Knight.
Denmark will be in tough against the powerhouse Americans after scoring just four goals and conceding 26 in the round-robin. The Danes’ lone win was a 3-2 shootout victory over Japan.
Following the quarters on Friday, the semifinals will be played on Sunday, with the gold and bronze medal games scheduled for Monday.