2025 Bronze Medal Preview: Czechia vs Finland

The hometown Czechs will take on Team Finland to see who will win Women's World Championship bronze on Sunday at 2 PM local time ( 8 AM EST).

How They got here

Czechia came out of the preliminary round with a 1-0-0-3 record. Their one win came over Switzerland, who finished the tournament in 5th.

The game against the Swiss resulted in a 3-0 win and a shutout for goaltender Klára Peslarová. Klára Hymlárová, Kristýna Kaltounková, and Tereza Piestekova had the goals.

The Czechs couldn't carry on that momentum into the remaining preliminary games, facing a difficult lineup of Group A teams. They were unable to score against Team USA, losing 4-0, and then fell 7-1 to Team Canada. They also lost to Finland, their bronze medal opponents, 4-2.

However, the Czech team in the playoff rounds has looked very different than they did in the preliminaries. They defeated Team Switzerland again, this time with a decisive 7-0 win. Peslarová picked up her second shutout of the tournament, while Natalie Mlýnková earned a hat trick.

This win earned them a date with Team USA in the semifinals, a formidable opponent who had already defeated Czechia earlier in the tournament. But the Czechs didn't let that stop them.

They exited the first period of the game with a 1-0 lead, and Peslarová turned away 43 shots. In the end, the US pulled out a 2-1 win, narrowly edging the hometown team.

It's clear that the Czechs are gaining on Canada and the US, and could be a force to watch out for in the Olympics. In the meantime, they've got a bronze medal on the line to pick up tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Finland exited the preliminary round with a 2-0-0-2 record, three points ahead of Czechia. Facing the North American powerhouses in the first two games, Finland surrendered a collective 12 goals. Their only marker in the first two games came at the hands of national team veteran Petra Nieminen.

However, the second half of the preliminary round proved better for Finland, who knocked off Czechia 4-2 and held off Switzerland 2-1. Goaltenders Sanni Ahola and Emilia Krykkö each took home a victory, and Ronja Savolainen had two goals. Naisleijonat captain Michelle Karvinen also scored, making her the all-time Finnish point record holder for the Women's Worlds tournament.

This set the Finns up for a date with the Swedes in the quarter-finals, a rivalry as historic as Team Canada and Team USA.

They jumped out to an early lead against Team Sweden, with Savolainen and Jenniina Nylund scoring in the first period. But the Swedes stormed back in the second, tying up the game.

Ultimately, it was a goal from Susanna Tapani at the end of the second period that would be the game winner, sending Finland to the semis to face Team Canada after a 3-2 victory.

Once again, the Finns did their best to hold off Team Canada and jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first period off a goal from Michelle Karvinen. After the first period, Canada led 2-1, but the tying goal seemed within reach for the Finns.

Unfortunately, they couldn't hold off a strong Canadian offense, and no number of beautiful saves from Kyrkkö could stave off the impending 8-1 Team Canada win.

Team Finland will be forced to look for their second-straight bronze medal win tomorrow in Czechia.

What to Expect

I'm not sure there's a clear winner going into this matchup. Both teams are strong defensively, with solid goaltending. And while Team Finland won their first meeting between, it seems like the Czechs enter the bronze medal game on a higher note.

Finland is a very defensive team. They came out of the preliminary round with 15 goals for and seven against, and entered the bronze medal game having scored two goals over the elimination rounds. In comparison, the Czechs, also a defensive team, scored 15 goals in the preliminary round and gave up six. However, they have now scored eight goals across the elimination round.

Both teams are strong in the goaltending department. The Finns have spent the tournament rotating through their goaltenders, with Ahola, Kyrkkö, and Anni Kiesala all earning starts. The team has stuck with Ahola and Kyrkkö through the elimination rounds, and it's unclear who we'll see for the bronze medal game.

The Czechs will undoubtedly start Peslarová in the bronze medal game, with her 92.47 save percentage and two shutouts.

With both teams being quite even, other things may be the cause for one to win bronze over the other.

The Czechs come into the bronze medal game having nearly defeated Team USA, holding the Americans to just two goals against. On the flip side, Team Finland comes into the game after being crushed by Team Canada, allowing eight goals, and many of them coming just plays apart. If it comes down to energy and vibes, the Czechs will take bronze.

But if the Finns can play how they did against Czechia in their first matchup, they just might take home the medal.