Defending champion Canada overwhelmed newly-promoted Germany in its opening game at the Women’s U18 World Championship in Zug, Switzerland. A hat-trick from Sienna D’Alessandro and a five-point game from hotly-tipped defender Chloe Primerano paced the Canadians to an emphatic 11-0 victory.

Germany, looking to step off the elevator after a few turbulent seasons, worked hard to keep the score respectable, but the gulf in class was apparent from a lopsided 68-4 shot count. Only two goalies in the history of this competition have faced fewer than the four efforts Hannah Clark stopped.

For head coach Tara Watchorn, that spoke to respect for the Canada's ethos. "We played to our habits," she said. "Even though we had the puck a lot, whenever we didn't, we stuck to our habits and looked to get back on offence."

There was no sign of first-night nerves from the Canadians. On the power play inside two minutes, the pre-game favourite was in front on 2:03 when D’Alessandro tipped a Primerano shot to wrong-foot Hannah Loist in the German net.
 

D’Alessandro had an unusual journey to this tournament. Back in the summer, she was initially cut from Canada’s camp, only to get a sudden recall and produce some starring performances as her country swept the USA in the Summer Select Series.

After that fast start, a brave performance from Loist kept the scoreline down as Canada dominated. At the other end, Clark had to wait until after the midway point to see her first shot, dealing comfortably with Riley del Monte’s effort.

As the Canadian pressure piled up, the goals began to flow. In the 15th minute, Primerano’s fluent skating drove her deep into German territory before she flicked off a neat behind-the-back feed for Charlotte Pieckenhagen to double the lead. Then, as the intermission approached, D’Alessandro stretched out her stick to steer a flying puck from Avery Pickering into the net.

The second period began with a bang. Primerano scored 10 seconds into the frame, and a minute later D’Alessandro arrived at the back door to complete her hat-trick off a Sara Manness feed. When Claire Murdoch bundled a Reese Logan effort into the net – Primerano again among the assists – for 6-0, Loist was pulled out of the firing line.

Logan attributed Saturday's success to the positivity around this Canadian team. "The key was probably just staying positive on the bench. Everyone was just tapping each other on the shin pads, making sure everyone's up and happy," she said. "We are all just happy when we're playing on the ice."

Miriam Siebert, part of last season's promotion-winning team, replaced her but almost immediately allowed goal number seven for Morgan Jackson. It summed up Germany’s evening that even a power play offered little respite: Jackson’s effort was a short-handed goal.

Caitlin Kraemer, who led last year’s gold rush with 10 goals, had been uncharacteristically quiet so far. She opened her account in Zug in the 35th minute. Then Primerano scored her second goal and fifth point with a simple finish after a poke check robbed Emma Venusio’s shot of its venom, but turned it into an inch-perfect feed to the open side of the net. Canada went into the second intermission with a 9-0 advantage.

In the third, Jackson's second of the night brought up double figures. Finally, a blistering snipe from Kraemer completed the scoring at 11-0.

Canada's impressive performance sends a daunting warning to its rivals in this tournament. For Germany, meanwhile, the big consolation is that future opponents will surely be less overwhelming.

"We never gave up," said team captain Martina Schrick. "It's not the result we wished for, but I think we can learn a lot from this game. We have experience now and we're excited for the next games."