<p>Only two games took place in České Budějovice on Saturday, but they were crucial in the fight for quarterfinal spots at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.</p>



<p>The opening game of the day saw a very entertaining battle between Germany and Norway. Germany jumped out in front by two, but Norway refused to be discouraged, keeping the distance to just one for most of the first two periods. However, a huge momentum shift came in the last minute of the second period as Nina Jobst-Smith scored a power-play goal to put Germany up by two. That took the air out of Norway’s sails, as Träger der Adler grabbed a 5-2 win, giving them their first victory of the tournament.</p>



<p>The marquee matchup was between the two teams fighting for third in Group, as host Czechia found itself in a tight-checking battle with Finland. Tereza Vanisova gave the packed house something to cheer about in the first, but Finland’s top guns started to turn the tide in the second period.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="169"></div>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tied game! Elli Suoranta with the shot. 🎯🇫🇮 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensWorlds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IIHF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IIHF</a> <a href="https://t.co/DSlnZByhZu">pic.twitter.com/DSlnZByhZu</a></p>— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1911122285471121581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<p>Two goals just a couple of minutes apart put the Finns out in front. Two more in the third put the game out of reach as Suomi also picked up its first win of the tourney, grabbing a 4-2 victory.</p>



<p>Here were the best players from Saturday’s slate:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Germany</h2>



<p><strong>Jule Schiefer, LW:</strong> While the line of the Welcke sisters and Svenja Voigt was solid, Germany’s third line of Jule Schiefer, Franziska Feldmeier and Celina Haider was exceptional. Schiefer was very involved in the offensive side of things. She picked up the primary assist on Haider’s goal, which kickstarted the scoring in the first period.</p>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Celina Haider circles the net and gets <a href="https://twitter.com/deb_teams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@deb_teams</a> on the board! 🇩🇪🤝 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensWorlds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IIHF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IIHF</a> <a href="https://t.co/OEHWV0qJg6">pic.twitter.com/OEHWV0qJg6</a></p>— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1911048953086333426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<p>She added her first of the tournament later in the second period, giving her four in her Women’s Worlds career. Schiefer ended up as a +3 in 14:45 of ice time.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="160"></div>



<p><strong>Franziska Feldmeier, C:</strong> Feldmeier was another beneficiary from the line’s success. Not long after Haider put Germany out in front, she put Germany up by two with her first goal of the tournament. She later picked up the primary assist on Schiefer’s goal early in the second. One of the many DFEL veterans on the German roster ended up with two points, as did Schiefer. Feldmeier was credited with two shots on goal, also finishing with a +3 rating.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Norway</h2>



<p><strong>Mathea Fischer, LW:</strong> After having a pretty quiet performance on Thursday against Japan, Fischer showed what made her one of the best players on SDE in 2023-24. She was consistently in on the attack early on, finding openings in Germany’s end when the Norwegians put Germany on their heels. She was rewarded with a goal late in the first period to put Norway on the board. Since the 2022 Olympic Qualifiers, the Oslo native has scored at least one goal in every international competition.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="163"></div>



<p><strong>Andrea Dalen, RW:</strong> It was another impressive performance from Andrea Dalen. After being one of Norway’s best players in the loss to Japan, the Frölunda HC star followed that up with a pretty goal against Germany on Saturday, at that point cutting the deficit to a 3-2 margin. It seemed like whenever Dalen had the puck, she was looking to shoot, especially when Germany started to take over. The 32-year-old was doing everything she could to create offense. Dalen accounted for six of Norway’s 22 shots in the losing effort.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Finland</h2>



<p><strong>Noora Tulus, C:</strong> In having a very tough season with the New York Sirens in the PWHL, many wondered where Tulus’ confidence level would be heading into the Women’s Worlds. After having a couple of rough games against the U.S. and Canada, the reigning SDHL scoring champion started to come alive on Saturday, showing the playmaking ability that made her one of the Finns’ top offensive weapons. She assisted on Elli Suoranta and Ronja Savolainen’s goals, giving Finland the lead. Tulus ended up being named the team’s player of the game.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="181"></div>



<p><strong>Sanni Ahola, G:</strong> If there was any other player who needed a bounce-back game, it was Ahola. After getting shelled against the Americans on the opening day of the tournament, the St. Cloud State backstop came up with some clutch saves early when Czechia was buzzing. The international veteran ended up making 27 saves in her seventh career win at the world championships.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Czechia</h2>



<p><strong>Kateřina Mrázová, C:</strong> Mrázová had a solid return to play in the first game of the tournament against Switzerland, making plays and being the difference-maker that made her one of the best players on the Ottawa Charge roster. Against Finland, she had a couple of good looks at the goal but kept getting sytmied by Ahola and the Finns’ back end. She did register an assist on Krystina Kaltounková’s goal in the third, </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="137"></div>



<p><strong>Kristýna Kaltounková, RW:</strong> Speaking of Kaltounková, the Colgate star was very active in Czechia’s attack once again, scoring her second goal of the tournament to cut the deficit to two. While her game in the NCAA has proven she can play at the next level, her performance so far in the tournament is showing that she can compete against the best. She’ll definitely be someone PWHL teams will take a solid look at.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Coming up…</strong></h2>



<p>Back to three games on Saturday, starting off with Norway taking on Hungary (5 a.m. ET), with both teams looking for their first wins in Czechia. Then, Japan and Sweden (9 a.m. ET) go at it in another critical Group B matchup before the heavyweight clash between the United States and Canada (1 p.m. ET) in a battle of unbeatens.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="133"></div>



<p>Both games will be broadcast on TSN3 and NHL Network</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MORE WOMEN’S HOCKEY</strong></h2>



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<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-iihf-womens-world-championship-roundup-standouts-from-day-2">2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship Roundup: Standouts from Day 2</a></li>



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<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/categories/pwhl"><em>Read more women’s hockey stories on DFO</em></a></p>


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