USA defeats Canada in IIHF Women’s World Championship prelim matchup: Takeaways

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ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE, Czechia – Team USA defeated Team Canada 2-1 in their preliminary round matchup at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship on Sunday night.

U.S. defender Lee Stecklein opened the scoring midway through the first period with a point shot through traffic that beat Ann-Renée Desbiens. Megan Keller doubled the lead in the second period after finishing an end-to-end chance, which would ultimately be the game-winner.

U.S. starter Aerin Frankel saved 18 of the 19 of the shots she faced for the win.

Here’s some key takeaways from the game.

Stecklein’s return

Stecklein was arguably the highlight of the U.S. roster when it was announced last month. The six-time world champion hadn’t played for Team USA since the 2023 World Championships in Brampton, Ont., after which she took time off from the U.S. women’s national team.

Since then, Stecklein had remained one of the very best defenders in the world for the Minnesota Frost in the Professional Women’s Hockey League and won the league’s first-ever Walter Cup championship in 2024.

She scored in Team USA’s opening game against Finland on Wednesday, and became emotional in the locker room when she was given the team’s “player of the game robe.”

“I’m just really happy to be back with you all,” she said in the clip shared by USA Hockey.”

Canada’s early offensive struggles

Canada struggled to generate much offense early in the game, with only six shots on goal — half of the U.S. shot generation (12) — in the first period.

The American forecheck, and defenders, made it difficult for Canada to set up deep in the American zone and sustain any significant offensive zone time. After the first period,  Canadian forward Brianne Jenner was succinct when asked what they needed to do in the second period, saying “generate more offense.”

That was a work in progress in the second and third periods. Canada finally got on the board with Laura Stacey’s breakaway goal in the third period. And the Canadians had some chances late in the game to force overtime, but couldn’t beat Frankel a second time.

It was notable to see the U.S. come out with such a strong forecheck, especially after head coach John Wroblewski specifically called out Canada’s after his team’s loss in last year’s gold medal game.

“Canada was unbelievable in the trenches tonight,” he said in 2024. “They did an amazing job winning wall battles. I thought their defense made life extremely difficult on our young forwards.”

It’s clear to see that beefing up their own work “in the trenches” was a focus for Team USA heading into the tournament. And on Sunday, it worked.

No Kirsten Simms for Team USA

One odd lineup decision was announced in the hours before the game: Kirsten Simms, one of the top young American forwards, would be a healthy scratch.

The 20-year-old winger was second in scoring in the NCAA last season and was the hero in the championship game for the Wisconsin Badgers, scoring on a penalty shot to tie the game with 18 seconds left, and then notching the game-winner in overtime. She’s one of the future faces of the American women’s national team, and scored the game-winner against Canada at last year’s preliminary round game.

Beyond Simms’ recent accomplishments, benching one of the top young players in the country is quite the departure from what we’ve seen from Wroblewski, who had been touted for the youth movement he brought to team USA when he was hired in June 2022.

In her first two games at worlds, Simms was on the fourth line with Britta Curl and Hayley Scamurra, and only played around 12 and nine minutes in each contest. Still, she managed to tally two assists before being taken out of the lineup.

With Simms’ usage paired with Laila Edwards’ move from an MVP forward to the blue line, it’s fair to wonder where young American players’ confidence might be as the tournament continues — and looking ahead to Milan 2026.

What’s next for Canada and the U.S.? 

This year’s Canada-USA game is unique in that it’s not the final game of group play. Typically, rivalry night serves as a finale before the playoff rounds, but after today both teams will have one more preliminary-round game to play before the quarterfinals.

On Monday, Canada will play the tournament hosts, Czechia, at 1 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, Team USA will play Switzerland at 1 p.m.

Quarterfinal games will take place on Thursday, April 17, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, April 19. The bronze medal game will be on Sunday, April 20 at 8 a.m., followed by the gold medal game at noon.

(Photo: Vaclav Pancer / CTK via AP Images)





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