Talla Hansen scores again and Bailey Rupp adds a goal and assist

Alaina Gnetz (Woodbury/Centennial/SLP) scored twice and added a pair of assists and Emily Pohl (Woodbury/Hill-Murray) added a goal and three assist to lead Team USA to a 14-0 win over Finland in the final preliminary round game of the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship.

Jane Daley (Medfield, Mass.), Chyna Taylor (Louisville, Ky.), also had 4-point games with Daley recording yet another hat trick. 

With the win, Team USA finishes preliminary round play a perfect 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and wins Group B.

“I thought we finished the preliminary round strong tonight,” said Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass.), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team. “We’re going to reset and make sure we’re focused and ready for the next game.”

The U.S. opened the scoring with two goals in 12 seconds. Just 7:16 into the game, Pohl picked up her first of the tournament. Talla Hansen (Wayzata, Minn.) won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Pohl, who circled the faceoff dot before unleashing a shot that trickled through the Finnish goaltender for the first of game.

Just seconds later, Annabelle Lovell (Hingham, Mass.) forced a turnover at the blue line, carrying the puck down the right lane before scoring on a shot from the outside.

Gnetz got on the board for Team USA’s third goal, before a flurry of three goals in 2:03 finished out the period at 6-0. Sloane Hartmetz (Phoenixville, Pa.) scored on the power play, before Bailey Rupp (Bemidji, Minn.) lit the lamp in her first action of the tournament. Daley rounded out the scoring in the opening period with another power play goal, Team USA’s second of the game, with 23 seconds remaining in the frame.

Stepnowski picked up right where the U.S. left off, Pohl passed to Stepnowski, who exercised patience carrying the puck from post to post before tucking it in right past the outstretch Finnish goalie’s pads.

Lovell recorded the eighth of the game midway-through the period, before Hansen put away her first of the night, on the power play, to extend the lead to 9-0 heading into the second intermission.

It was a five-goal third period for Team USA with Gnetz, Kylie Amelkovich (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) and Daley (x2) rounding out the scoring for a 14-0 final.

Next up, the U.S. will face the fourth seed in Group A in the quarterfinal round on Thursday (Jan. 15). Opponent and game time will be determined based off further results on Tuesday’s competition.

NOTES: Alaina Gnetz was named the U.S. player of the game … The U.S. outshot Finland, 71-7 … The U.S. was 4-5 on the power play, while Finland was 0-3\