The only goal chosen by coach Dušan Andrašovský was scored by Adéla Šapovalivová on the power play before the end of the second period at 0:2. On the opponents' side, Kassidy Carmichaelová scored a double in the third act.

“It hurts a little now, but I think we can be proud of what we accomplished. In time, we will realize that the silver one is great. And we will be very happy about it. It will get better by the minute minute and hour by hour,” she told the waiter. hockey.cz captain Šapovalivová, who, by accepting the second place trophy, clearly showed the immense disappointment of the final defeat.

Czech players had the best result at the World Championship in this age category, winning bronze in 2008 and 2014. Last year, the third American celebrated her first title since 2020 and her ninth gold medal overall.

Šapovalivová, with 11 points the second most productive player of the tournament behind Chloé Primeranová and also the second best scorer (9 goals) behind another Canadian Caitlin Kraemerová, was declared the best attacker of the championship. Aneta Šenková was awarded as the best goalkeeper. Both are also on the All Star team.

As expected, the American hockey players were a little more active and won the first two periods thanks to penalties with the same ratio of 14:6. Goalkeeper Šenková, who made 34 successful saves during the entire match, remained scoreless until the 11th minute. Then, in 77 seconds, Scannellová and Boxová won.

The Czechs were able to get back into the match from the end of the second half, when Petrie was sent off for a foul for five minutes and until the end of the match. Cabelová had a great chance on a long power play, but she didn't put the puck in the goal. In a similar situation, Plosová only shot into the side net.

Shortly after the game was already at five, Rasmussenová missed the puck a meter from the open Czech Republic goal with a 100% chance. In the 39th minute, the Czech team saw a glimmer of hope. Captain Šapovalivová shot smartly on the power play, goaltender Hempová didn't see the puck through Fromová's protection and when she tried to find it, she glanced behind the Czech defender on the wrong side.

“We tried to turn things around, we scored a contact goal to make it 1:2, but it's a shame we didn't manage to do it. The Americans did it, they scored nice goals. Unfortunately, we didn't pay attention to them, they played a great match,” praised Šapovalivová for her opponent's play.

In the 45th minute, Carmichael restored the Americans' two-goal lead. In nine minutes, she repeated the joy of the power play goal and the decision was made. The Czech team then tried a long match without a goalkeeper, but without success. Thomas took the opportunity to complete the victory for the USA.

“Unfortunately it didn't work out today, it's a bit bitter now, but I think when we get to the hotel it will all be over and we will be happy that we fought for a medal. is great that we have one, and silver is better than bronze,” said Šapovalivová.

At the same time, the Silver Czechs entered the tournament with two defeats. The opening defeat against the Finns (2:3) was followed by a 1:8 debacle against the Canadians. “But then we came together, gave it our all and won silver. The fact that we beat Canada for the first time in history and reached the final for the first time is a huge success, we have to appreciate it,” Šapovalivová recalled the big surprise of the semi-finals, in which her team beat the defending champions 4: 2.

Andrašovský: We are proud of what the girls played here

After two fifth-place finishes, coach Dušan Andrašovský led the Czech players to a historic silver medal at the Women's Under-18 Hockey World Championship. Although after losing the final to the Americans (1:5), he struggled to suppress the immediate feeling of disappointment, in an interview for the server hockey.cz he singled out the players for their performance in the tournament and appreciated the success they achieved.

“Of course we were very disappointed that it didn't work out, but now comes the joy of what we have accomplished. And the realization that this is a singular and immense achievement. We We're very happy about it and we're very proud of the girls who played here. Not just as athletes, but as people. That's the most for us. That they proved they can play against n “no matter what opponent and they represented the Czech Republic at the best level,” said Andrašovský.

The first half proved to be the key to the development of the final, when the Americans took a 2-0 lead with two goals in quick succession. “The first half was not good, we did not give the fighting performance we wanted. Maybe the victory against America in a friendly match did not help us, maybe that we thought it would be an easier match,” Andrašovský said.

“We couldn't repeat what we played against Sweden and Canada. I think we were a good partner for America, but we didn't play our best. If we could repeat that, we could get a better result. But still, hats off,” added Andrašovský.

He was sorry for the unused power-ups. Even before the end of the first act, the Czechs played for more than a minute with a five-on-three numerical advantage, and at the start of the second half they played five-on-four for five minutes. They had chances but didn't score. “That was the deciding factor in the result. Not scoring a goal in a five-on-three match is often decisive, so the team usually doesn't win. But… If someone had told us before the tournament that we would play the final against America, we might have slapped our foreheads,” Andrašovský said.

Moreover, his charges entered the tournament with two defeats, only then could they rejoice in the victory over the Germans. “We spent some time together and the girls probably said a lot to each other. As a team we started to believe more that we could beat Sweden in the quarter-finals. It was done, it gave a kicked the team and put in a heroic performance against Canada. We weren't better, but in one game out of ten you can beat Canada. We did it on the right day,” said Andrašovský.

But he himself believed from the start in a successful championship. “My colleague Pouska and I always have the biggest ambitions, and I think we cannot succeed without that. After unsuccessful previous championships, where we were always eliminated in the quarter-finals, we tried to be modest in our statements to the media, but we believed in a medal. Of course, the silver medal is even better than the one we expected,” said former striker Andrašovský.

After the battle for gold, he thanked the players in the booth. Especially for those finishing in 18th grade. “They were the deciding factor of this team. They all played very well. Especially the two who attracted the team during the whole tournament – Adéla (Šapovalivová) with Tereza (Plosová), as well as Anežka (Čabelová) and Aneta (Šenková) in goal. We are very proud of them. They withstood the enormous pressure, but unfortunately they found themselves alone at times,” said Andrašovský.

Finals of the U18 Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Zug (Switzerland):
Czech Republic – USA 1:5 (0:2, 1:0, 0:3)
Goals and assists: 39. Šapovalivová (Čabelová, Plosová) – 11. Scannellová (Thomasová, Boyleová), 12. Boxová (McGatheyová, M. Averillová), 45. Carmichaelová (Boyleová, Senečálová), 54. Carmichaelová (Thomasová, Derrenbacherová) ), 59. Thomas. Referees: Kainbergerová (Austria), Manthaová (Can.) – Dinantová (Belgium), Greenenová (USA). Exclusion: 3:3, plus Petrie (USA) 5 min. and until the end of the match. Usage: 1:1. Viewers: 1456.
Composition of the Czech Republic: Skořepová, Mazancová í Iková. Coach: Andrašovský.
For 3rd place: Canada – Finland 8:1 (3:0, 4:0, 1:1).
For 5th place: Sweden – Slovakia 4:1 (1:0, 3:0, 0:1).
Retention: Switzerland – Germany 2:1 (0:0, 1:1, 1:0).
Final ranking: 1. United States, 2. Czech Republic3. Canada, 4. Finland, 5. Sweden, 6. Slovakia, 7. Switzerland, 8. Germany (relegated).