The group stage is done, and we’re looking forward to Thursday’s quarter-final action in Vantaa. But while we’re waiting for the knock-out rounds to start, let’s check in with IIHF.com’s Women’s U18 World Championship reporters Risto Pakarinen and Andy Potts for some thoughts on how it started, and where it’s going.
What were your stand-out moments in the group stage?
Risto: There were quite a few! One quick disclaimer: with the North American dominance, it’s sometimes too easy to overlook those teams and take their standout moments for granted. OK, enough rambling.
The way Japan really made Sweden work for their points was impressive. The Japanese team is disciplined and they really play for each other. In addition, they have Umeka Odaira who turned 16 just a couple of weeks before the tournament and leads Japan in scoring. Speaking of moments, there was one that must have made the Swedish coach's heart skip a beat when a Japanese shot had already beat the goalie and a Swedish defender swatted the puck out from mid-air.
When the US and Canada get their offense going, the way they attack in waves, and are relentless is impressive.
Oh, another moment that comes to mind is from the stands, from the first Finland game. A father came to the stands with his daughter, wearing their local Helsinki team sweaters and sweatshirts. The little girl was giddy to see the Finnish team and just as the girls skated out on the ice, the father gave his daughter a little squeeze as they shared a hockey moment. Another girl (and her Dad) hooked on hockey.
Andy: OK, I’ll speak up for the North Americans. It is, of course, great to see the rest of the world getting more competitive in women’s hockey. There’s sometimes a tendency to want that catch-up process to go faster, but there’s no sport where you can build a champion team in a single year. The step-by-step, year-on-year progress we’re seeing across the board is encouraging.
But that also means that the USA and Canada are having to work harder to maintain their traditional dominance. So when Morgan Stickney goes an entire group phase without allowing a goal (something no goalie has achieved previously), that shows that the best are getting better as well. Similarly, the way Canada finds ways to unlock stubborn defences and solve some inspired goaltending points to an evolution in the game. We’re not just looking at talented individuals, we’re looking at properly drilled teams. And I think we’re seeing that…
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