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

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2026.

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.

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 the win.

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

The Canadian Press