Canada won gold at the Women's U18 World Juniors, beating the USA 3-0 in the final. Marilou Grenier stopped all 14 shots she faced. Grenier allowed four goals on 62 shots throughout the whole tournament. Stryker Zablocki led the tournament in scoring with eight goals and 12 points in six games. The Czechs earned bronze in the third place match, beating Sweden.
One thing is true, women's hockey is growing, shown by local talent at the U18 women's world championship. Stryker Zablocki helps Canada take gold in Finland. #sports #hockey #princealbertSK panow.com/2025/01/12/z...
— Susan McNeil (@susanmcneil.bsky.social) 2025-01-13T01:12:33.772Z

Slovakia's 16-year-old Nela Lopusanova earned the tournament's MVP award with 11 points, helping in all but three of her team's goals and keeping her country in the top tier of the tournament.

Going through the stats of the U18s, here are some fun facts that caught my eye:
Four Canadian centres led the tournament in faceoff wins, all above 65%
Canadian defender Chloe Primerano, the budding star known for her overtime goal for the women's national team late last year, led the tournament with a +10 (10 goals for, 0 against).
Chloe Primerano ends her U18 Team Canada career with gold v USA and tied with Marie-Philip Poulin with 36 points. Player of the Game for the final despite no points. Stryker Zablocki the big name to watch out of this tournament over the next few years for 🇨🇦.
— Ben Steiner (@bensteiner00.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T19:16:12.858Z
USA's Morgan Stickney led the tournament with a save percentage of .957.
Most games were relatively close in score, except for Canada's 17-0 win over Japan last Thursday, who got relegated at the end of the tournament.
Here are the highlights from the gold medal game.
Yesterday afternoon the Toronto Sceptres lost their seventh games of the season (they've played nine) in overtime to the New York Sirens. They are unsurprisingly last in the PWHL. The Sceptres were close to a rare win, and it was a nail-biting 0-0 game for a while, until Jessie Eldridge scored the winner.
That goal was controversial for PWHL fans as replays showed Eldridge was offside by a few feet when she got sprung on a breakaway to score. Have a look for yourself.
how is that not offside?
— Omar (@tictactomar.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T19:46:04.986Z
You can see the black dot on the left side of the screen above the refs hand, and Eldridge on the right of the screen ahead of the blueline.
Easily.
— KevinLeafed (@kevinleafed.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T19:40:10.957Z
It's clearly offside, but the PWHL doesn't have video reviews for offside calls... yet?
The PWHL is a new league. That comes with challenges; when things happen that aren't in the rules. But also they have the chance to learn from others and make rules that can stand the test of time. They can get it right the first time.
As for the definition of "right", disagreements are going to arise. So I'd like to know what you think: when should video review be used, knowing that it can correct calls but also slow down the pace of the game? Should they be triggered by coaches challenges or automatically by a video referee? And would you expect there to be funds for an investment in video replays of this sort in a young league?
Colorado had 14k attend their PWHL game between the Montreal Victoire and the Minnesota Frost. Vancouver also had a great night last week. Minnesota won 4-2 and now are back at the top of the standings over Montreal.
Everyone watches women's sports! This was such an amazing night to be a part of. Can't wait till Colorado gets its own PWHL team! I think a record being set is enough justification for an expansion, right?
— Clarky (@goatwave.bsky.social) 2025-01-13T03:35:12.213Z
More than 45,000 fans took in the first three stops of the PWHL's Takeover Tour this week in Seattle, Vancouver and Denver. Many saw the product for the first time. That's an impressive path to growing brand awareness. www.forbes.com/sites/carols...
— Carol Schram (@carolschram.bsky.social) 2025-01-13T03:34:11.496Z
This weekend was a celebration of women’s hockey in Colorado. For the girls who had to play with the boys. For the girls who are helping the local scene grow now. For future generations with new heroes and dreams. The PWHL came. Denver showed out. www.denverpost.com/2025/01/12/p...
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22.bsky.social) 2025-01-13T02:12:22.538Z
Vicky Sunohara was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. If you don't know about her already, this is a great article to do that, and hear what the induction means to her. She will be formally inducted on May 25th, 2025 after the Men's World Championships in Stockholm.

Imagine your family getting yelled at for three straight generations.

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