Detroit goaltender Annelies Bergmann recorded a 25-save shutout for Team USA in a historic 7-0 win over rivals Canada on Thursday at the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship in LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wisconsin.
The victory marks the first time the United States shut out Team Canada in the tournament’s 14-year history. The United States heads into the playoff round as the top seed with a 3-0 record in the preliminary round and earns a bye to the semifinals on Sunday. The gold medal game is Monday at 8:30 p.m.
“I think we played really well all over the ice,” United States head coach Katie Lachapelle told usahockey.com. “We talked about how we move around without the puck, being good defensively and smothering that player with the puck.
“We have fast kids and they are playing hard. They are really starting to gel. I think we are getting better with every game.”
Bergmann, a 16-year-old Cornell University draftee who plays for the Oakland Grizzlies men’s U16 team, was named player of the game after stopping seven shots in the first period, 10 shots in the second period and eight shots in third period. . Bergmann is 2-0 in the tournament with a .978 save percentage.
Plymouth’s Kirsten Simms had an assist with two shots and was plus-1, South Lyon‘s Cassandra Hall was scoreless and plus-2 and Franklin’s Elyssa Biederman was scoreless and plus-1. The line of Simms, Laila Edwards and Tessa Janecke combined for four points and a tournament-leading 18 points in three games.
The game, which will be televised Friday noon on Hockey Network, marked the 20th all-time meeting between the top two teams at the U18 Worlds. The United States holds a 13-7 advantage, including a 2-1 overtime victory in the 2020 gold medal game in Slovakia and has won five of the last six world titles.
Canada, which has scored just three goals in two games, will face Slovakia in the quarter-finals.
