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2025 Worlds

Canada Cruises Past Finland, Sets Up Another Gold Medal Clash With USA

Led by a record-breaking goal from Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada cruised past Finland 8–1 in the semifinals.

Canada Cruises Past Finland, Sets Up Another Gold Medal Clash With USA
Marie-Philip Poulin, Daryl Watts, and Julia Gosling celebrating a goal.(Photo Credit: IIHF)

Canada is heading back to the gold medal game after an commanding 8–1 win over Finland in the semifinals of the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Despite an early Finnish goal, the Canadians responded with authority, scoring eight unanswered goals and showcasing their depth, speed, and star power in one of their most dominant performances of the tournament.

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Finland stunned Canada just 46 seconds into the game when Michelle Karvinen buried a rebound in tight to give her team a 1–0 lead. It was only the third time in Women’s Worlds history that Finland had scored first on Canada in a semifinal, and it didn’t last long.

Less than two minutes later, Erin Ambrose jumped on a loose puck to tie things up. From there, Canada found its rhythm, and once Marie-Philip Poulin gave them the lead midway through the first, they never looked back. The goal was her 88th career point at the Women’s Worlds, pushing her past Hayley Wickenheiser as the all-time leader among Canadians at the tournament.

“It’s amazing and so well-deserved,” said linemate and Montréal Victoire teammate Laura Stacey. “I think you can see her work ethic day in and day out. To see her break that record is pretty special. I think it’s countless hours, countless years of hard work, and obviously she’s the best to ever do it, so we’re pretty lucky to have her on our team.”

Canada broke the game wide open in the second, scoring four goals in under two minutes in one of the most explosive stretches of the tournament. Daryl Watts kicked it off at 3:12, pouncing on a rebound in tight to make it 3–1 and she didn’t stop there. Just 33 seconds later, she wired home a power-play goal for her second of the game.

Emily Clark and Danielle Serdachny followed in quick succession, capitalizing on Finnish breakdowns to stretch the lead to 6–1 before the midway mark of the period.

Canada didn’t let up in the third. Claire Thompson threaded a shot through traffic to make it 7–1, and Sarah Nurse buried a rebound minutes later to cap the scoring.

But the final frame wasn’t without incident. Finnish veteran Michelle Karvinen left the game after taking a high hit from Watts along the boards. Watts was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, ending her night early and casting a shadow on an otherwise standout performance.

Despite the extended power play, Finland couldn’t break through. Canada’s penalty kill, led by steady veterans like Poulin and Fast, held firm.

At the other end, Ann-Renée Desbiens turned aside 19 shots to quietly make history of her own, becoming the winningest goaltender in Women’s Worlds history with 22 victories, surpassing Switzerland’s Florence Schelling for the top spot.

“She had a little break a couple years back and to see the fire in her eyes now that she’s back, there’s no better person it could happen to, and I’m not surprised [she’s got the record],” Poulin said. “She’s a warrior, she fights. She’s coming back from injury, she wanted to be here, and she put that work in to be here.”

Canada now heads into yet another gold medal clash with Team USA, the latest chapter in a rivalry that has defined international women’s hockey for decades. Puck drop is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. local / 12 p.m. ET.

Finland, meanwhile, will face Czechia in a rematch of last years bronze medal game. They’ll be hoping Karvinen is healthy enough to return and that they can rebound from a tough semifinal showing.

As for Canada, they leave the semifinals with momentum, milestones, and one last chance to take back the top spot.

Ann-Renée Desbiens and Marie-Philip Poulin. (Photo Credit: IIHF)

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