2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship: Top standouts from Day 4

Nov 9, 2026, 15:56 EST

The superpowers of women’s hockey were part of the short, two-game slate on Monday at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Canada and the United States, both favorites to win their respective groups, took on the underdog teams in Denmark and Austria on Tuesday, both trying to prove they belong with the best teams in the world.

Let’s look back at what happened in Herning and Esbjerg on Monday, and which players stood out:

Austria 1, United States 11

I mean, both of these games went exactly how we expected them to. Since both games started at the same time, it seemed there was a little race for Austria and Denmark to put their first shot on goal. Austria was able to put a couple of pucks on Aerin Frankel in the first period, but they hardly put forth any consistent pressure on the Americans. The U.S. put up four goals in the first period, followed up by another four in the middle stanza, before potting three more goals in the third.

Austria would manage to beat Gwyneth Philips late in regulation, with Annika Fazokas giving the Austrian fans something to cheer about, but the damage was done, as the Americans improved to 3-0. A loss from Czechia on Tuesday would give the U.S. first place in Group A.

Team USA outshot Austria 64-5, not allowing a shot on goal in the second period. Aerin Frankel started the game, only making two saves before being replaced by Philips for the second half. Yet, Frankel earned the decision, giving her the 17th win of her Women’s Worlds career, surpassing Jessie Vetter as the winningest American goaltender in tournament history.

The U.S. had the only two power plays in the contest, but failed to convert on either one.

Austria now needs a miracle to avoid relegation. They need to beat Switzerland in their final game on Tuesday, and they need the Swiss to lose to Germany on Wednesday.

United States

#4 Caroline Harvey, D (Vancouver Goldeneyes): It was another sensational performance from Harvey. After breaking the WWC defensive scoring record on Sunday, the Goldeneyes’ top pick came back with a five-point performance against the Danes, potting a hat trick as well. It goes to show that a player of Harvey’s caliber refuses to take a night off. Harvey now leads the tournament with 10 points through three games.

#24 Joy Dunne, F: A player who is projected by just about everyone to go first overall in the 2027 PWHL Draft had herself quite the performance in the blowout. Playing on a line with Tessa Janecke and veteran Alex Carpenter, Dunne scored her second goal of the tournament in the second period, finishing the contest with four points. The trio of Janceke, Dunne and Carpenter combined for seven points on Monday.

Austria

#31 Magdalena Luggin, G: Given that Austria is playing tomorrow in a must-win game, they wanted to make sure sister Selma Luggin got the needed rest. That meant Magdalena had to face the U.S. attack the entire. The Mercyhurst backstop battled and made some pretty incredible saves on Tuesday, ending the night with 55 saves. You can see why she’s one of the top goaltenders in Atlantic Hockey America.

Denmark 0, Canada 10

Unlike the U.S., Canada did everything in its power to ensure it kept the bagel on the board. The Canadians outshot the host nation 27-0 in the first period, and even as the game started to get out of hand, they never took their foot off the gas. Canada was up 3-0 after 20 minutes, putting up a four spot in period two. Canada kept firing the puck in the third period, finding the back of the net thrice, including Sara Manness scoring her first goal at the Women’s Worlds. With the win, Canada can clinch first place in Group B with a loss from Finland on Tuesday.

Canada ended up with 74 shots on goal, while Kayle Osborne picked up her first WWC win, needing to make just six saves against Denmark. Sarah Filler’s power-play goal was Canada’s lone opportunity with the player advantage, while Denmark went 0-for-3. Caroline Bjergstad got the start for the Danes in net, but Aya Petersen came in relief in the second period, allowing four goals on 33 shots.

Canada

#27 Emma Maltais, F (Montreal Victoire): A couple of members of the Victoire had exceptional efforts in the double-digit victory. Maltais has been pretty consistent through the first few games of the tournament, with her two-goal outing against Denmark giving her a second multi-goal performance of the preliminary round. The line of she, Rebecca Leslie and Manness has been a fun line to watch thus far, and could be a firecracking line against a fast team like the U.S.

#7 Laura Stacey, F (Montreal Victoire): Though she has been granted the captaincy for the Women’s Worlds, Stacey has been a little quieter than one would expect through the first two games. That changed on Monday, as the speedy veteran led the charge with a goal and three points. On a line with creative talent such as Daryl Watts and Caitlin Kraemer, Stacey might be the elder of the bunch, but she shows she can still hang with the best.

Denmark

#30 Caroline Bjergstad, G: With Denmark trying to set themselves up for success by not dressing Emma-Sofie Nordstrom until Tuesday, it was going to be a tough day at the office for whoever started against Canada. Give her credit, though, Bjergstad battled against a relentless Canada onslaught. Though she played just under 30 minutes, the RPI product got a full game’s worth of action, stopping 35 of the 41 shots she faced.

Standings

Group A

1. USA (3-0-0-0), 9 points
2. Czechia (1-0-1-0), 4 points
3. Germany (1-0-0-1), 3 points
4. Switzerland (0-1-0-1), 2 points
5. Austria (0-0-0-3), 0 points

Group B

1. Canada (3-0-0-0), 9 points
2. Finland (1-0-0-1), 3 points
3. Sweden (1-0-0-1), 3 points
4. Denmark (0-1-0-2), 2 points
5. Japan (0-0-1-1), 1 point

Coming up…

The second-to-last day of group action will see a few pivotal matchups. Czechia goes up against Germany (9 a.m. ET), with Finland and Japan also taking to the ice (9 a.m. ET). Switzerland will face a weathered Austrian squad (1 p.m. ET), and Sweden faces off with the Danes to cap off the day (1 p.m. ET).

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