Morgan Stickney of Manhattan Beach made five saves for her tournament-record fourth shutout as the United States opened play in the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship with a 13-0 victory over Slovakia Saturday in Membertou, Nova Scotia.
Stickney helped the Americans kill off four power-play opportunities in the preliminary-round game at the Sport and Wellness Centre.
The victory was Stickney’s sixth in the tournament, the most by a U.S. goaltender.
Stickney, who will turn 18 on Jan. 18, had three shutouts in the 2025 tournament, led the tournament with a 0.67 goals against average and .957 save percentage and was selected for the all-star team, as the U.S. finished second behind Canada.
Stickney is among two Californians on the 25-player roster, which consists of 10 players from Minnesota, seven from Massachusetts, two from Illinois and one each from Connecticut, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Texas.
The other Californian, forward Jillian McLaughlin of Oceanside, had an assist Saturday.
Stickney is among four players on the team from Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, an Episcopal boarding and day school in Faribault, Minnesota, known for its renowned boys’ and girls’ hockey programs, which have produced five female Olympic hockey gold medalists and 50 NHL players.
Stickney has signed a letter of intent to accept a scholarship to play for Penn State, beginning with the 2026-27 season. She earlier played for the Los Angeles Junior Kings 13-and-under team and Los Angeles Lions 14-and-under team.
Kylie Amelkovich, a Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammate of Stickney’s who has also signed with Penn State, had a tournament record six assists Saturday. Another of Stickney’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammates, Jane Daley had three goals and an assist, as did Maggie Averill.
The U.S. out-shot Slovakia, 75-5, improving to 3-0-0-0 against the Slovaks at the Under-18 Women’s World Championship, outscoring them 29-2.
Mariana Sumegova made 44 saves over the final two periods for Slovakia, allowing eight goals. Zuzana Tomeckova made 18 saves and allowed five goals in the first period in front of a crowd announced at 429.
The Americans will face Czechia Sunday at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time in the second of three preliminary-round games. The Czechs won the bronze medal in the 2025 tournament.
All the U.S. games will be televised live by the NHL Network.