Women’s World Championship Semi-Final Matchups Set

After a hectic first day of elimination matches, the semi-finals for the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship have been set, and it is expected to be a good one. Here’s what to look forward to for Monday.

USA vs Finland

The United States is the defending champions of this tournament, and they continue to storm along after destroying Japan by a score of 10-2, scoring five of them in the first period, and not allowing a goal through the last 40 minutes of the game. Hilary Knight has been the headliner of the tournament for her nation, shattering Cammi Granato’s all-time record in both goals and points. This dominating performance came after a terrible loss to Canada in the group stages, so it was important for them to bounce back like that. If the United States can win this year’s championship, it will be their sixth consecutive, which would be a huge feat.

Finland is coming off of a shutout over the Czech Republic, with goaltender Anni Keisala saving all 29 shots she faced in action. This is a highly anticipated match, as this was the Gold Medal game in the recent World Championship tournament in 2019. Finland is likely the third-best nation at this tournament, so if anyone can give the top teams a run for their money, it’s them.

Canada vs Switzerland

Canada is coming off of a purely dominant performance over Germany, in which they won 7-0 after outshooting their opponents by a 52-3 margin, giving Emerance Maxchmeyer the shutout. They have a ton of elite players, stemming from tournament point leader Melodie Daoust, to Natalie Spooner, to Brianne Jenner, and the list goes on. They are the team to beat this year, as they have yet to lose a game and don’t look like they will be anytime soon.

Switzerland is the feel-good, underdog story. Coming off a 3-2 overtime victory in which they came back from a 2-0 deficit against Russia. Unfortunately, they will have to match up against the best nation in the world, in which they stand little to no chance. However, they will have a chance to play for a medal, whether it be gold or bronze. They have put eyes on themselves at this tournament after a poor start in the group stage.

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