2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey: Top standouts from Finland vs. Canada
Keep calm, Canada, for now.
Thanks to a strong finish on Thursday, Canada was able to come away with a 5-0 win over Finland to secure second place in Group A at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Heading into the game that was originally meant to be played last Thursday, Canada was still without captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who is still nursing a lower-body injury. With a jumbled lineup, Canada had a bumpy start to the game, as Finland came close to scoring first a couple of times. However, there was a sigh of relief when Jenn Garinder scored her first Olympic goal with just a few minutes to go in the first period.
Canada was able to find its legs in the second period and started to take over, as Daryl Watts and Kristin O’Neill scored back-to-back goals just two minutes apart to send Canada into the third up by three. Emily Clark capped off the victory with her first two goals in Milan, marking just the second time the Red and White have scored five goals in a game in the opening round.
There was a brief scare for Canada in the second period, when Sarah Fillier briefly left the game after crashing hard into the end boards. However, she would return to the bench and later assist on Watts’ goal.
Thanks to outshooting Canada in the third period, 7-3, Finland was only outshot by a margin of 23-17. Ann-Renee Desbiens posted her first shutout of these Olympics and second of her career. Sanni Ahola finished the game with 18 saves.
There were no penalties in the game.
Canada (3-0-1) finishes second in its group for the first time since the inaugural women’s tournament in 1998, which was a single round-robin preliminary round. They will face Germany in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Finland (1-0-3) ends up in fourth and will take on Switzerland for the second time in five days on Saturday.
Canada
Kristin O’Neill, F
For someone who has always been considered a depth player on the national team, O’Neill has been an important piece and a real firecracker for Canada at previous IIHF Women’s World Championships. Even when centering the fourth line on Thursday, she was heavily involved in the offense. Her tenacious forecheck late in the opening period led to Gardiner finding the back of the net. Then, her quick release led to her scoring her second goal of the tournament in the middle frame.
Emily Clark, F
Good to see Clark get on the scoresheet for the first time. With Poulin out, she was bumped up to the second line with Laura Stacey and Blayre Turnbull. With the two workhorses, Clark was able to be the beneficiary and score a couple of goals in the third to seal the win. You can see what the Ottawa Charge forward is capable of in an elevated role. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stays in the top six in the knockout stage.
With Canada not having the offensive dominance it has had in the past, players like Clark and O’Neill will be important if Canada wants to make a run back to the gold medal game.
Daryl Watts, F
Outside of Renata Fast, I would table Watts as Canada’s top player in the tournament so far. You can tell that the Olympic stage isn’t too much for her, and even though she was held at bay against the Americans on Tuesday, she played with more confidence and spark against Finland. Her quick release on her second goal of the tournament highlights her ability to be a versatile force on the offensive end.
Finland
Elli Suoranta, D
Finland certainly gave us a reason to doubt Canada early in the game, with Suoranta being a key part of her team’s defensive effort. The 23-year-old was put on Canada’s top six for most of the game, and did relatively well in limiting the scoring chances. On a pair with Ronja Savolainen, Suoranta ended up leading the Finns with 23:45 of ice time.