Gardiner scores twice, Canada downs Finland 5-0 to start world hockey championship

By Canadian Press on April 10, 2025.

ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE — Jennifer Gardiner scored twice and had an assist in her women’s world hockey championship debut to lead Canada to a 5-0 win over Finland on Thursday.

Marie-Philip Poulin and Ella Shelton each had a goal and an assist and Emma Maltais also scored for the defending champions in their tournament opener.

Goaltender Kristen Campbell posted a 24-save shutout in her first world championship start.

Finland’s starter Emilia Kyrkko allowed four goals on 12 shots before she was pulled for Anni Keisala in the first minute of the second period.

Keisala stopped 16 shots in relief in front of an announced crowd of 1,128 at Ceske Budejovice Arena.

Canada faced a tight turnaround ahead of their second Pool A game at 3 p.m. local time Friday against the Swiss (0-1).

Finland, the 2024 bronze medallist, played its second game in as many days after a 7-1 loss to the United States.

Canada has lost twice and tied once in 91 all-time games against the Finns, but the latter upset Canada in a 2019 semifinal en route to a silver medal in Espoo, Finland.

Maltais produced Canada’s fifth goal Thursday threading a shot from the blue line through both traffic and Keisala’s pads at 11:14 of the third period.

Poulin, Gardiner and Laura Stacey, the top line of the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire, got to work early in the tournament for Canada.

Gardiner’s second goal 18 seconds into the second period deflected off the skate of Finnish defender Sanni Rantala as the Canadian whipped the puck towards Stacey in the slot.

Stacey dished the puck down to Gardiner behind the net, who fed Poulin on Finland’s doorstep at 17:12 of the first period for the captain to bang in Canada’s third goal.

Canada worked the puck around the offensive zone before springing Shelton, who skated in from the point and used an Emily Clark screen to shoot top corner on Kyrkko at 12:22.

Gardiner collected her first world championship goal at 6:02 on a give-and-go with Shelton. She beat Kyrkko with a wrist shot from the face-off circle.

Finland forward Viivi Vainikka left the game in the last minute of the first period after a hard collision with Poulin.

Canada was held scoreless on a pair of power-play chances and kept Finland off the scoresheet on its one opportunity.

Head coach Troy Ryan had said he wanted to give goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens more preparation time before inserting her into a world championship game.

Canada’s starter in recent world championships and the 2022 Olympic Games was injured in a PWHL game March 18. Eve Gascon of Terrebone, Que., was Campbell’s backup Thursday.

With 36 goals and 43 assists, the 34-year-old Poulin from Beauceville, Que., moved closer to Hayley Wickenheiser’s Canadian tournament records for career points (86) and assists (49) and Jayna Hefford’s 40 goals.

At 18 years three months, defender Chloe Primerano became Canada’s third-youngest player to play in a world championship after Wickenheiser (15) and Cheryl Pounder (17).

Rosters were expanded by two skaters at this year’s world championship to 25 players. Desbiens, forward Julia Gosling and defender Sophie Jaques were Canada’s scratches Thursday.

Gosling was a late replacement for Hannah Miller who was named to the roster, but declared ineligible because a contract with a Chinese club less than two years ago ran up against IIHF transfer rules.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press