2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship Roundup: Standouts from Day 1

The first day of the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, with group favorites establishing themselves as early contenders thanks to strong performances in České Budějovice.

Starting things off on Wednesday, many were excited for a clash between Sweden and Germany, the two favorites in Group B. While the Swedes carried the play for most of the game, the Germans only trailed 2-1 heading into the third. Yet, Damkronorna had two quick strikes from Anna Kjellbin and Thea Johansson, giving the team enough of a cushion, leading to a 4-2 win.

The second contest saw a game between the United States and Finland that felt closer than it ended up. The Americans ended up winning 7-1, but only ended up outshooting Finland by a final tally of 24-20. The difference was that the high-quality chances were in favor of the U.S., despite only getting one power play. They made life difficult for Finnish netminder Sanni Ahola, with Kelly Pannek and Hilary Knight having big games for the U.S.

The final game of the day saw the hosts Czechia play in front of a raucous home crowd, less than a year after their men’s team won gold on home ice. The women’s side didn’t disappoint, jumping out to an early two-goal lead against Switzerland. The Swiss did an excellent job of keeping things interesting with plenty of good chances, but they couldn’t get through coach Carla MacLeod’s defense and goaltender Klára Peslarová, leading to a 3-0 win for the Czechs.

One of the significant aspects of the win for Czechia was the return of Kateřina Mrázová. The veteran had been placed on LTIR by the Ottawa Charge, having not played in almost two months. Mrázová assisted on Kristýna Kaltounková’s goal in the first period.

Here are the players who stood out on the opening day in Czechia.

Sweden

Hannah Thuvik, RW: Sweden had some jump in the opening period of the tournament, and one of the beneficiaries was Hanna Thuvik. The 22-year-old was named to the Swedish roster for the fourth straight year but had just one goal in her first 12 WWC appearances. Yet, Thuvik scored the tournament’s first goal, finishing off a great effort from Lisa Johansson in the first period.

The Brynäs star ended up playing 19:12, fourth among Swedish skaters, and was named the team’s player of the game.

Mira Hallin, LW: Another depth player who made a difference against the Germans, Hallin certainly had her best game at the senior worlds. The MoDo forward put her team up by two early in the second period with her first goal at the Women’s Worlds. Then, she was involved in the goal that Toronto Sceptres defender Kjellbin was credited with early in the third. Hallin, who was one of Sweden’s best players in the 2023 and 2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships, finished the game with a +3 rating.

Germany

Luisa Welcke, RW: Heading into the tournament, it was clear that Germany’s success was going to come from the Welcke sisters, Lille and Luisa. The two came together to help Trager der Adler score their first goal of the tournament. After a solid faceoff win by Lille, Luisa ripped a shot by Emma Söderberg to cut the deficit to 2-1.

It was the Boston University product’s fourth career goal at the Women’s Worlds. Welcke ended up leading Germany with four shots in the losing effort.

Katarina Jobst-Smith, D: While the defensive pair of Nina Jobst-Smith and Carina Strobel was listed as the second-pair, the duo logged the most minutes for Germany on Wednesday. Strobel led all skaters with 27:52 of ice time, while Jobst-Smith was right behind her with 25:58. Jobst-Smith, a native of North Vancouver, was very involved in the offense. Along with picking up the primary assist on Welcke’s goal, the Minnesota Duluth captain fired three shots on goal.

USA

Hayley Scamurra, LW: The Americans were all over the Finns in the early stages of the contest. However, it was one of the more unheralded stars who found the back of the net. Scamurra, who has had her share of struggles in the PWHL since being traded from Ottawa to Toronto, scored the team’s first two goals of the game just a few minutes apart with a couple of rippers by Sanni Ahola.

They were Scamurra’s first goals in an IIHF tournament since the 2023 Worlds, earning her player of the game honors. With her ability to create offense in a limited role, the U.S. could use the depth scoring in this tournament.

Kelly Pannek, C: While Hilary Knight and Taylor Heise were key players in all facets for the Americans on Wednesday, Pannek stood out with some great plays throughout the game. She was able to generate multiple chances on her line with Abbey Murphy and Minnesota Frost teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield. The 29-year-old also showed her scoring touch, finishing a nice play from Murphy in the first period before capping the game off with Team USA’s seventh goal of the contest.

Finland

Petra Nieminen, LW: While there wasn’t a lot to cheer about on the Suomi side of things, seeing a rather good-looking power play is a positive sight that the team can take into the rest of the tournament. Nieminen hammered home Finland’s lone goal in the losing effort after a pretty setup by Elisa Holopainen.

As you’d expect, Nieminen was at the forefront of Finland’s offense. The three-time reigning SDHL goal-scoring champion led the Finns with four shots on goal, with the line of she, Holopainen and Susanna Tapani producing seven of the team’s 20 shots.

Czechia

Kristyna Kaltounkova, LW: Is she an easy choice since she was Czechia’s player of the game? Sure. However, after having not played internationally for her country in over four years, Kaltounková made up for lost time with an impressive performance on Wednesday. The Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 Finalist scored an absolute beauty on the power play late in the first period, giving the home side all of the momentum after 20 minutes.

The Colgate star was also exceptional defensively, being a big asset on the team’s penalty kill.

Klara Peslarova, G: There was a lot of concern if Peslarová was going to have any rust on her, since she had played just one game with the Boston Fleet this season, which came in the middle of February. Yet, the 28-year-old stood tall in front of her home fans, making some good-looking stops when the Swiss created some quality chances with the player advantage. The Ostrava native ended the night with a 26-save shutout, giving her team some confidence heading into a big-time clash with the Americans on Saturday.

Switzerland

Lara Stalder, RW: Things hardly went well for the Swiss, a team that’s unfortunately grown accustomed to finishing near the bottom of Group A. Yet, one of their longtime stars would’ve been the difference-maker had a couple of her chances beaten Peslarová. Stalder was all over the ice on Wednesday, using her hands and awareness to get some quality looks at goal. That line with Stalder, Alina Müller and Rahael Enzler will be one of the main reasons Switzerland has any success in the tournament.

Coming up…

Thursday’s action will see Canada in action for the first time, taking on the wounded Finns (1 p.m. ET). Sweden will face Hungary (9 a.m. ET), with Japan kicking things off against Norway (5 a.m. ET).

All games are going to be broadcast on TSN3 and NHL Network.

MORE WOMEN’S HOCKEY

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• PWHL suspends Victoire’s Kati Tabin two games, Charge’s Zoe Boyd one game
• Toronto Sceptres place Raygan Kirk on long-term injured reserve
• PWHL Power Rankings: Playoff battles hitting fever pitch heading toward Women’s Worlds
• 5 Takeaways from Week 15 of the PWHL season: First-place race is getting tight, leads are for losers

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