U.S. women strike gold with 2-0 win over Canada in U18 world hockey championship

By Canadian Press on January 18, 2026.

SYDNEY — Canada’s unbeaten run at the Under-18 women’s world hockey championship came to an end Sunday.

Unfortunately, the impressive streak was halted in the gold-medal game against the United States.

Emily Pohl and Lindsay Stepnowski scored for the Americans and Talla Hansen chipped in with two assists as the U.S. won gold with a 2-0 win.

Netminder Bianca Birrittieri stopped 38 shots to record the shutout. Lea-Rose Charrois stopped 25 shots in the Canadian net.

Pohl gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead at 14:08 of the first period, and Stepnowski doubled the lead at 18:17 of the second.

Czechia beat Sweden 4-3 in Sunday’s bronze-medal final.

Canada went 3-0 in Group A’s preliminary round, beating Switzerland 9-0, Hungary 14-0 and Sweden 9-2. Canada then beat Finland 12-0 in the quarterfinals and knocked off Czechia 8-1 in the semifinals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2026.

The Canadian Press