SYDNEY, N.S. — American forward Emily Pohl and blueliner Margaret Averill notched two goals and added two assists apiece to help lead the United States handily take the Swedes out of gold medal contention with a 9-1 win Saturday evening at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship at Centre 200.
Forward Jane Daley was one of five other players to put one on the scoreboard for the U.S., making her record-setting 12th goal of this year’s tournament, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). She leads all players with 17 points total.
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Averill and Pohl opened it up in the first to make it 2-0 going into the first intermission, forwards Jillian McLaughlin and Daley added a couple more in the second frame, followed by Averill and Pohl, and forward Madelyn Kimbrel putting it past the goal line with less tha a minute less in the second to make it 7-0 after 40 minutes.
Three of those first seven goals were scored on American powerplays, including one on a five-on-three in the second, which included a two-minute interference from defender Ebba Westerlind and a five-minute spearing penalty, that came with a game misconduct, from forward Moa Stridh, served by fourth-liner Greta Johansson, which certainly didn’t help the Swedish squad with the game off the ice — and perhaps their mentality on the ice.
That being said, there were plenty of Swedish fans in the stands in the Cape Breton arena, wearing team jerseys, holding up brightly coloured signs, and cheering them on throughout, but the whoops and hollers were perhaps no louder than when Tilde Grillfors snuck one past American goalkeeper Bianca Birrittieri on a powerplay just over three minutes into the final frame, narrowing the gap to 7-1 for the U.S.
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Despite the Swedish support in the crowd, and the goalie change from starter Meja Engelin to Thea Holmberg going into the third period, there just wasn’t enough time for the yellow and blue squad to catch up to the visibly stronger American team.
Centre Talla Hansen scored on an Averill assist and winger Lindsay Stephnowski capped it off with help from Pohl to seal the 9-1 deal and earn a berth to Sunday’s gold medal game for the United States.
Birrittieri didn’t earn the shutout but made a solid 17 stops for the U.S., while Engelin made a respectable 25 saves on 32 shots against. Holmberg saved seven of nine shots in her third-period appearance in the crease.
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“This sucks,” Swedish captain Ebba Westerlind told reporters matter-of-factly after the tough semifinal loss.”We compete every time,” she said, adding, “the U.S.A. is really good, so we try to do our best.”
“I think we did some good things… (but) I felt like they were first on the pucks, especially in the first period,” she said, but pointed out “we did better throughout the game.”
Now that Sweden is moving on from semis, it’s time for “eat, sleep, rest,” Westerlind said of focusing on what’s coming next for her country at U18 women’s worlds — a chance to go home with bronze medals around their necks. “We know we have to do the best we can… and focus on the win.”
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Sweden will play for bronze bragging rights earlier Sunday at Centre 200. The Swedes last won a silver medal at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, which they hosted in their home country in the northern community Ostersund.
As for the Americans, four-point contributor Pohl said, “we don’t take any of our opponents lightly.
“We knew it was going to be a good game, but I think all of us are us are prepared,” the Woodbury, Minn., native said.
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“Our coaches and teammates do a great job preparing all of us. So, (we) just (to) have fun and smile out there, and play our game that we know how to play.”
United States head coach Courtney Kennedy said her team was “enjoying the moment” of the semifinal celebration before turning thoughts to tomorrow’s battle for the world championship title.
“It was a lot of work to get here,” she said. “I’m very proud of the players, and I’m proud of the way they played through all three periods of every single game, and it’s uphill from here.
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“Whoever wins this next game, we’re going to have to prepare and get back to the drawing board about what we need to be successful, and both teams that we could end up playing, they’re both fantastic, they’re well-coached, and (Sunday) will be a hard, hard game.”
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Kennedy said.
Earlier Saturday, Finland beat Slovakia 7-1 in a relegation game, marking the first time the normally top-ranked women’s hockey country, which means they’ll be moving down a division in the IIHF under-18 international pool.
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The large scoring gaps at this U18 worlds isn’t what many fans, or serious women’s hoockey watchers, want to see, as international development should be helping close these gaps to ensure competition continues to improve and the game continues to grow worldwide.
Sweden faces off in the bronze medal game at 3:30 p.m. AT, while the United States goes for gold at 7:30 p.m. AT.