🇨🇦 Canada 4-0 Switzerland 🇨🇭
Women’s World Championship Preliminary Round
Budvar Aréna, České Budějovice 🇨🇿
Friday, 11 April 2025

Canada erupted for three second-period goals in a span of 2:32 and downed Switzerland 4-0 at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship on Friday.

The defending champions have won two straight games without conceding a goal in České Budějovice.

Canada’s talent, depth, and commitment to two-way hockey were on full display. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin stepped up with three assists and four different players scored, including newcomer Daryl Watts with her first career Women’s Worlds marker.

Watts talked about Canada’s upcoming Group A showdown with the arch-rival Americans on Sunday: “I think when we think about the Americans, we think about their speed. We play most of them in the PWHL. A large number of them are still in the NCAA. They’re super-skilled, a great team, and we’re just excited.”

Natalie Spooner, who chipped in Canada’s second goal, hailed Poulin’s leadership: “She can do it all, and I think we’ve seen her score the beautiful goals, but also make the beautiful passes. And she leads our team every tournament. And we’re following her. We’re doing the right things out there.”

Switzerland remains winless and goalless through two games. Coach Colin Muller’s squad will get the weekend off to regroup before taking on Finland, the 2024 Bronze medalists, on Monday.

“I think we had good chances,” said Swiss defender Nicole Vallario. “We just didn’t score. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes. They’re also really good opponents. So we respect them, but also, I think we put on a good show for the people that were watching.”

After celebrating her 31st birthday the day before, top Canadian goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens had another reason to celebrate as she made her first start of the tournament and recorded 17 saves for the win. The Montréal Victoire star had been recovering from a lower-body injury since mid-March.

“I was always confident I would play,” Desbiens said. “I knew that things were good and especially as a goalie, you don’t want to bring a goalie to an event when you don’t know if they’re going to be able to play or not. It’s a tough position, you only have two extras. A lot of things can go bad. Once we made the decision that I was coming, I was pretty confident that things would go OK.”

Swiss starter Andrea Brändli had a busier afternoon, making 36 stops.

The Canadians showed no ill effects from being in action again less than 24 hours after blanking Finland 5-0 with Kristen Campbell in net in their opener. Coach Troy Ryan took the opportunity to experiment with his defensive pairings.

Super-prospect Chloe Primerano, 18, was promoted to play alongside Erin Ambrose, while Claire Thompson, who set the Olympic points record (13) for defenders in 2022, was scratched. In her place, Sophie Jaques, the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, slotted in to make her Women’s Worlds debut alongside assistant captain Jocelyne Larocque.

Brändli kept Switzerland in it early on as Poulin’s top line forechecked aggressively. But that Canadian pressure paid dividends at 7:34, as the Swiss netminder stopped Poulin from the slot but couldn’t prevent a pinching Micah Zandee-Hart from roofing home the rebound.

It was Desbiens’ turn to look sharp when the Swiss tested her during a late first-period power play with Renata Fast off for cross-checking. The Swiss possibly deserved a better fate in the opening stanza, with captain Lara Stalder firing five shots on net and defender Nicole Vallario three.

Near the five-minute mark of the second period, Poulin got in alone on Brändli and deked to the backhand, but her attempt rang off the goalie’s left post. Nonetheless, the dam was about to burst.

Swiss captain Lara Stalder became the Women’s Worlds all-time penalty minutes leader (79 PIM) when she took a roughing minor. Just over a minute later, at 7:14, the Canadian power play converted with Natalie Spooner banging in Poulin’s cross-crease feed to double the lead. Spooner was named the inaugural IIHF Female Player of the Year in 2024 when she led the PWHL with 20 goals and seven assists for the Toronto Sceptres.

“It was really just a gift back door for me, and I was able to put it in,” Spooner said.

Laura Stacey wired a one-timer past Brändli’s glove side on a nice back pass from Poulin at 9:06 to make it 3-0. Forty seconds later, Watts, a feisty and engaged presence all game, zapped the puck through Brändli’s wickets from the left faceoff circle.

“She’s such an offensive threat, and with her speed, her skill that she has, I think we’re going to see a lot more of that down the line,” Spooner said.

Watts appeared to have scored her second of the game after taking the puck off Stalder in the slot, but the Swiss challenged the play, and upon review, it was determined that Canada was offside. No goal.

Still, Switzerland was unable to muster anything resembling a comeback. Canada outshot Switzerland 16-3 in that dominant middle frame.

In the third period, the Canadians continued to grind their opponents down, checking doggedly to preserve Desbiens’ shutout.

Spooner reflected on facing the Americans, some of whom she plays with on the Sceptres: “When they’re on our team, we love them, but I think as soon as you put on that Canada jersey and they put on that American jersey, it just kind of takes you back to all those tournaments you’ve been in before, when you’re standing on that blue line and it’s not your anthem. So I think that rivalry is still just as strong as it was before, and I’m looking forward to that game.”

Poulin continues to close in on all-time Canadian Women’s Worlds records. She has 82 career points, just four shy of Hayley Wickenheiser’s record (86), and 46 assists, three back of Wickenheiser (49).

Switzerland has never defeated Canada at the Women’s Worlds. Canada has won 14 straight meetings dating back to 1997. The most lopsided result was 13-0 for Canada at the 2013 tournament in Ottawa. Last year in Utica, the final score was 3-0 as goalie Emerance Maschmeyer posted a 17-save shutout.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
12:26 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Zandee-Hart (Poulin, Stacey)
17:28 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Fast, cross checking

2nd Period
26:12 – 🇨🇭 PEN – Stalder, roughing
27:14 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – Spooner (Poulin, Nurse)
29:06 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Stacey (Poulin, Fast)
29:46 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Watts (Fillier)

3rd Period
none

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇨🇦 Desbiens (17-17)
L: 🇨🇭 Brändli (36-40)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇨🇦 13+16+11 = 40
🇨🇭 12+3+2 = 17

ROSTERS
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Kristen Campbell, Ann-Renée Desbiens. Defence: Erin Ambrose, Renata Fast, Sophie Jaques, Jocelyne Larocque (A), Chloe Primerano, Ella Shelton, Micah Zandee-Hart. Forwards: Emily Clark, Sarah Fillier, Jennifer Gardiner, Brianne Jenner, Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, Kristin O’Neill, Marie-Philip Poulin (C), Danielle Serdachny, Natalie Spooner, Laura Stacey, Blayre Turnbull (A), Daryl Watts.
🇨🇭 Goaltenders: Andrea Brändli, Saskia Maurer. Defence: Alessia Baechler, Lara Christen, Elena Gaberell, Laure Mériguet, Alena Lynn Rossel, Shannon Sigrist, Nicole Vallario, Stefanie Wetli. Forwards: Leoni Balzer, Rahel Enzler, Naemi Herzig, Alina Marti, Alina Müller (A), Kaleigh Quennec (A), Noemi Ryhner, Lisa Rüedi, Vanessa Schaefer, Lara Stalder (C), Ivana Wey, Laura Zimmermann.

Article Credit: 2025 Women’s World Championship
Photo Credit: 2025 Women’s World Championship – IIHF – HHOF – IOC