Canada fell to the U.S. 4-3 in the gold medal game at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championships in Czechia, but Cloverdale’s Jenn Gardiner says she’s still grateful for the experience and is thankful for being able to pull on the Team Canada sweater.
Fresh off the silver medal, Gardiner returned home to Cloverdale for a few days of rest before heading back to Montreal to close out the PWHL season and prepare for playoffs and the possibility of hoisting the Walter Cup.
"Although it was not the outcome we had hoped for, and right now I am feeling extremely disappointed, I think that every player in our locker room can confidently say that we gave it everything we had,” Gardiner told the Cloverdale Reporter. “You know a gold medal game against your biggest rival is going to be tight.”
She noted that forcing the game to overtime “shows the resiliency” Team Canada played with over the course of the world championships.
“It was a back and forth game that could have gone either way,” Gardiner added. “Every player is going to come back even more hungry to win gold at the next tournament.”
Gardiner—who was making her world championships debut—and Team Canada battled back in the gold medal game from both a two-goal and then a one-goal deficit to send it to OT tied 3-3. The game, played in Budvar Arena in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia, April 20, ended 17:06 into the extra frame (which was played 3-on-3) when Tessa Janecke netted the golden goal off a mistake Canada made in their own end.
Gardiner said wearing the maple leaf for her country always “sparks something special” in her.
“It reminds you of the little girl inside of yourself who thought playing for Team Canada was only a dream that might never come true,” she explained. “To look around the locker room and know that you are one of twenty-five girls selected for the roster to compete at the world championships is a surreal feeling.”
She said during the tournament she took time to reflect on her hockey journey and how she got to where she is now—success at Ohio State, a member of Team Canada, and a player on Montreal’s PWHL team, the Victoire. She said it took a village to get her there and she’s thankful to every person who was a part of it.
At world’s, Gardiner racked up 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists), which was good for second in tournament scoring behind Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin (12). But Gardiner was the tournament's leading goal scorer, which included a crucial goal to knot the final 2-2.
“It’s my first world championship and being one of the youngest on the team, I went into the tournament with the mentality of bringing everything I had to the table and also trying to be a sponge to learn everything I could from the experience,” Gardiner explained. “Honestly, throughout the entire gold medal game, the bench and the building were one of the loudest I have ever heard. We went down by two but it didn’t matter to us because no one lost confidence.”
She said no one cared who scored for Canada as long as someone did. Danielle Serdachny put Canada on the board less than a minute after the U.S. went up 2-0. Then, Gardiner scored less than a minute after that.
“My heart skipped a few beats when I saw the puck go in the net off of my stick for the second goal,” she said. “But it was the last goal from Sarah Fillier that really set the tone and sent us into overtime.”
Despite scoring a game-tying goal and having a great tournament on debut, Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan benched Gardiner for the entire OT frame (17:06).
Gardiner said she not sweating it though, she’s just grateful to be able to play for Canada.
“I had my parents and some family friends in the stands cheering me on, along with countless people back home watching that would send me messages before and after every game,” she said. “But honestly, the best part of the experience was the people I got to share it with. There is something so special inside the Canadian locker room, which is built from the leadership, the incredible staff, and the culture instilled from Hockey Canada.”
Gardiner plans to be back in Cloverdale in July and August to see family and friends and to pass on some of her hockey knowledge to younger generations of players.
“I’ll be coaching at various camps in B.C. and trying to enjoy summer as much as I can, going on a few hikes and getting up to my cabin as well,” she noted. “I am not the type to want a big offseason. So, I am sure when the season does come to a close, I'll be back on my skates pretty quickly afterwards to start preparing for the year ahead.”
For more pictures and info on Gardiner and Team Canada's run at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships, visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow them on social: Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.
