The Czechs dominated the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour in 2024-25, winning nine of 12 games thanks in large part to the goaltending of Klara Peslarova.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
Peslarova perfect, Czechs go 9-3
The last leg of the four-part Euro Women’s Hockey Tour concluded in Czechia on Sunday night. The 3 Nations event in Liberec saw Czechia defeat Switzerland, 4-2, at Home Credit Arena to win the three-team tournament.
Previous games included a 4 Nations event in Kloten, Switzerland last August, followed by the Lidl Hockey Games in Sodertalje, Sweden, last November, and a 6 Nations tournament in Tampere just before Christmas.
The core four teams participating were Czechia, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, but the 6 Nations event included teams from Canada and the United States. This last event, however, did not include Sweden, which was playing in the Olympic qualification games.
Overall, the Czechs can be very pleased with their results while the Swiss must be worried. Czechia finished with an overall record of 8-1-1-2 and a goals differential of 33-19. Goalie Klara Peslarova allowed only seven goals in four games, and the team got some confidence putting the puck in the net. Sweden finished with a record of 5-1-1-4 in its three events and a goals differential of 24-26, and Finland were 5-0-0-7 and 26-31.
The Swiss lagged far behind. They won only one game of 12, a 2-1 penalty-shot shootout win over the Czechs in Kloten. Worse, their 10-37 goals for-against numbers show them having trouble scoring and keeping the puck out of their own goal. With the Olympics just a year away, coach Colin Muller has his work cut out for him, but, of course, these games were not played with final Olympic rosters in most cases.
The games this year are part of a new, five-year agreement among the participating federations. Each of the four nations will host one event, and the North Americans have agreed to join for the December leg, making the six-team event very much like a mini-Women’s World Championship. This past December, Canada and the United States agreed that their teams would comprise of players from the national development team (Canada) and NCAA players (United States). The result was that games were closer, but in the end it was still a North American final, the U.S. prevailing 5-3.
That game was another thriller. The Americans took a solid 3-1 lead going into the third, but Canada tied the game with two goals midway through. Abbey Murphy, however, broke the tie at 15:26 and they added an empty netter. Murphy led the tournament in scoring with nine points in four games.
Finland’s Viivi Vainikka, who is playing with the stacked Lulea team in the SDHL this year, led all scorers over the course of the Euro Tour with five goals and nine points in seven games. Several players from the PWHL also participated thanks to that league’s schedule accommodating the European international breaks. Swedish goalie Emma Soderberg, for instance, who plays with the Boston Fleet, had a 4-1 record in the first three events. Several Czechs from the PWHL also played many of the games including Katerina Mrazova (Ottawa Charge), Denisa Krizova (Minnesota Frost), Tereza Vanisova (Ottawa), and Noemi Neubauerova (Toronto Sceptres), all of whom figured in the scoring in yesterday’s final game.
In summary, Czechia won the 4 Nations in Switzerland thanks to a 6-3 win over Sweden on the final day. Ten weeks later, the Czechs won again, in Sweden. The Americans won the 6 Nations tournament in December, and then the Czechs won their third event this past weekend on home ice. It is clear that under coach Carla MacLeod the team is having its best years ever in women’s hockey, making them a medal favourite among the European nations heading to Milan 2026.
The last leg of the four-part Euro Women’s Hockey Tour concluded in Czechia on Sunday night. The 3 Nations event in Liberec saw Czechia defeat Switzerland, 4-2, at Home Credit Arena to win the three-team tournament.
Previous games included a 4 Nations event in Kloten, Switzerland last August, followed by the Lidl Hockey Games in Sodertalje, Sweden, last November, and a 6 Nations tournament in Tampere just before Christmas.
The core four teams participating were Czechia, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, but the 6 Nations event included teams from Canada and the United States. This last event, however, did not include Sweden, which was playing in the Olympic qualification games.
Overall, the Czechs can be very pleased with their results while the Swiss must be worried. Czechia finished with an overall record of 8-1-1-2 and a goals differential of 33-19. Goalie Klara Peslarova allowed only seven goals in four games, and the team got some confidence putting the puck in the net. Sweden finished with a record of 5-1-1-4 in its three events and a goals differential of 24-26, and Finland were 5-0-0-7 and 26-31.
The Swiss lagged far behind. They won only one game of 12, a 2-1 penalty-shot shootout win over the Czechs in Kloten. Worse, their 10-37 goals for-against numbers show them having trouble scoring and keeping the puck out of their own goal. With the Olympics just a year away, coach Colin Muller has his work cut out for him, but, of course, these games were not played with final Olympic rosters in most cases.
The games this year are part of a new, five-year agreement among the participating federations. Each of the four nations will host one event, and the North Americans have agreed to join for the December leg, making the six-team event very much like a mini-Women’s World Championship. This past December, Canada and the United States agreed that their teams would comprise of players from the national development team (Canada) and NCAA players (United States). The result was that games were closer, but in the end it was still a North American final, the U.S. prevailing 5-3.
That game was another thriller. The Americans took a solid 3-1 lead going into the third, but Canada tied the game with two goals midway through. Abbey Murphy, however, broke the tie at 15:26 and they added an empty netter. Murphy led the tournament in scoring with nine points in four games.
Finland’s Viivi Vainikka, who is playing with the stacked Lulea team in the SDHL this year, led all scorers over the course of the Euro Tour with five goals and nine points in seven games. Several players from the PWHL also participated thanks to that league’s schedule accommodating the European international breaks. Swedish goalie Emma Soderberg, for instance, who plays with the Boston Fleet, had a 4-1 record in the first three events. Several Czechs from the PWHL also played many of the games including Katerina Mrazova (Ottawa Charge), Denisa Krizova (Minnesota Frost), Tereza Vanisova (Ottawa), and Noemi Neubauerova (Toronto Sceptres), all of whom figured in the scoring in yesterday’s final game.
In summary, Czechia won the 4 Nations in Switzerland thanks to a 6-3 win over Sweden on the final day. Ten weeks later, the Czechs won again, in Sweden. The Americans won the 6 Nations tournament in December, and then the Czechs won their third event this past weekend on home ice. It is clear that under coach Carla MacLeod the team is having its best years ever in women’s hockey, making them a medal favourite among the European nations heading to Milan 2026.