Canada advances to women’s U18 hockey final with 6-2 win over Sweden, will face US

ZLIN, Czech Republic – Canada will play for gold at the IIHF U18 women’s world hockey championshipafter defeating Sweden 6-2 in the semifinal on Friday.

Sophie Shirley and Sarah Fillier each scored twice for Canada, while Brooke Hobson and Maegan Beres had a goal apiece.

“We got away from what makes us successful, but when it wasn’t working, we did resort back to what makes us successful to get out of that situation,” head coach Troy Ryan said. “For the players to understand that and remain calm on the ice and on the bench in the situation was important for us.”

Edith D’Astous-Moreau stopped 13-of-15 Swedish shots.

Josefin Bouveng and Paula Bergstrom scored for Sweden while Sofia Reideborn stopped 34 shots.

Canada will face the United States in Saturday’s final after the Americans blanked Russia 6-0.

“(Tomorrow’s game) is a huge rivalry and it’s always the most exciting game to play.” Shirley said. “Playing for the gold medal is always a huge moment and we will need to stick to our game plan and the process that we have and everything should go as planned.”