US downs defending champion Canada 2-1 to stay perfect at women’s hockey worlds

CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic (AP) — The United States downed defending champion Canada 2-1 at the women’s hockey world championship on Sunday in a matchup of the game’s global powers.

Lee Stecklein and Megan Keller scored for the Americans who made it three wins from three in Group A. U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel made 18 saves.

Laura Stacey got the lone goal for Canada and captain Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her fifth assist in the tournament to top the scoring table with six points.

“We played like a team today,” U.S. head coach John Wroblewski said. “It’s games like this that you have to grind out and from puck drop to final whistle we did just that.”

Stecklein wristed a shot high into the net from the point to put the Americans 1-0 ahead 10:36 into the opening period.

It was the second goal at the tournament for the defenseman who took the past year off to focus on her PWHL career.

Keller made it 2-0 in the middle period after skating from the neutral zone to the slot before netting past Ann-Renee Desbiens with 7:38 to go.

Stacey scored on a breakaway 6:50 into the final period.

The U.S. previously routed Finland 7-1 and shut out the Czechs 4-0. Canada had recorded two shutout wins, blanking Finland 5-0 and Switzerland 4-0.

Canada has won 13 world titles, followed by the U.S. with 10, in the previous 23 tournaments.

Canada won the final after a thrilling 6-5 overtime win over the U.S. in last year's tournament held in Utica, New York. The Americans won in 2023, beating host Canada.

The U.S. completes the preliminary round against Switzerland on Tuesday, Canada plays host Czech Republic on Monday.

Earlier, Sweden shut out Japan 2-0 in its third straight win.

Paula Bergstrom and Hanna Thuvik scored for Sweden in the Group B game. Sweden goalie Emma Soderberg made 17 saves for the second straight shutout.

Sweden tops the group with nine points with Japan trailing by three points in second.

Norway beat Hungary 3-0 in a game of the two newly promoted teams.

Andrine Furulund and Emma Bergesen scored a goal apiece in the middle period and Millie Rose Sirium added the third into an empty net in the third to lead Norway to its first victory at the tournament after a 27-year absence from the top division.

Norway goalie Ena Nystrom stopped 45 shots.

Hungary remains pointless and goalless after losses to Sweden and Japan by the same 2-0 score in its previous games in Group B.

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AP Women's Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey