Poulin helps Canada to win over Switzerland in women's world hockey championship

ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE - Canada gets a breather to top up the tank at the women's world hockey championship before what bodes to be an eventful two days.

The defending champions dispatched Switzerland 4-0 on Friday less than 18 hours after blanking Finland 5-0 to start the tournament.

Canada (2-0) has Saturday off before diving into another back-to-back starting Sunday against the United States (2-0) followed by the host Czechs (1-1) on Monday to cap Pool A.

Canada's last opponent in the preliminary round at the last four world championships was the U.S., but the Czechs, who are hosting the tournament for the first time, wanted to conclude their pool against the reigning world and Olympic champions.

"Czechia being the host has some influence in that schedule," Canada head coach Troy Ryan said. "They made a selection and that's a bit of a challenge to us. Hopefully we're up for that challenge."

The Czechs, who fell 4-0 to the U.S. on Friday, have reached the bronze-medal game three straight years and won it in 2022 and 2023.

And Canada has learned to expect the unexpected when facing the archrival Americans. 

It can be a 1-0 game as it was in the preliminary round last year or it can be a bucking bronco of a 6-5 overtime decision in the final that Canada won in Utica, N.Y.

Two of five games between the two countries went to a shootout in this season's Rivalry Series that Canada won 3-2.

"When I look at sort of the last, probably 10 or 12 games that we played against them, they all look different in some capacity," Ryan said.

"Either we've got to dictate the game or we've got to roll with it a little bit to try to stop it from rolling over us. 

"It's weird. It's hard to figure it out to be honest. We've won with physicality, we've won with offence and we've won with defence. God knows what this one will end up like. We'll see."

Canada weathered the aggressive Swiss, who were bolstered by goaltender Andrea Braendli's 36 saves.

A three-goal burst by Canada in a span of two minutes 32 seconds in the second period was the difference in front of an announced crowd of 5,395.

Marie-Philip Poulin was the straw stirring Canada's drink as the captain assisted on her team's first three goals. 

"That's what she's been doing her whole life," said teammate Daryl Watts. "When we need her the most, she gets it going for us."

Watts scored her first world championship goal. Micah Zandee-Hart, Natalie Spooner and Laura Stacey each contributed a goal.

Even a Poulin error can be fruitful. Spooner produced Canada's first power-play goal of the tournament on a whiffed pass by Poulin that nevertheless had enough mustard to get to Spooner on Switzerland's doorstep.

"Full disclosure, full miss," Poulin said. "Spooner is the type of player that gets to the net and it just went in."

At 36 goals and 46 assists for 82 points, Poulin closed in on Hayley Wickenheiser's Canadian tournament records for points (86) and assists (49).

"When you're Poulin, your misses end up in cross-crease passes for tapping in," Ryan said. "You grow to rely on it. She just finds a way all the time."

Ann-Renée Desbiens posted a 17-save shutout in her first start since suffering a lower-body injury March 18 in a PWHL game with the Montreal Victoire. She repelled a half-dozen shots on a Swiss power play to end the first period.

"It's been a roller-coaster," said Canada's starter in the last four world championship finals and 2022 Olympic Games. 

"I didn't know if I was going to be able to be here at this event, so to be able to get a start and get that first one out of the way after a few weeks, that feels pretty good."

Ryan said there was discussion over going back to Kristen Campbell after her 24-save shutout against the Finns, or giving 21-year-old Eve Gascon her first world championship action Friday. The decision was it was time to get Desbiens back in Canada's net.

All the top-five seeds in Pool A and the top three finishers in Pool B advance to Thursday's quarterfinals. The semifinals and medal games are also back-to-backs April 19-20.

The Finns and the Swiss were both 0-2 in Pool A. 

Sweden, which was a 2-0 winner over Hungary, was even with Japan at 2-0 atop Pool B. Germany and Norway were bot 0-1 and the Hungarians 0-2.

The women's championship will revert to "snake" seeding in each of the two pools in 2026 to match the men's under-20 and men's and women's under-18 championships.

In an attempt to reduce lopsided scores, the IIHF began seeding the top countries in one pool and lower seeds in the other in 2012.

A problematic optic was a team could go winless through the A pool, yet play a quarterfinal against a Pool B team that won four games to get there.

The IIHF increased roster sizes at this year's world championship by two skaters to 25.

Defender Sophie Jaques drew in Friday for Claire Thompson. Desbiens' activation bumped Gascon to a scratch alongside forward Julia Gosling.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.