The Canadians held off the Americans' comeback in the final of the World Women's Under-18 Hockey Championship on Monday in Madison, Wis., to clinch the gold medal with a 3-2 win .

The representatives of the maple leaf got off to a good start, scoring the first three goals.

Alexia Aubin, in the first period, redirected a powerful shot from Ava Murphy to open the scoring.

In the next frame, Murphy launched on a loose puck in the slot and again sent a powerful slapshot that gave the opposing goaltender no chance. Then, 58 seconds later, Jocelyn Amos couldn't have picked a better time to score her first goal of the tournament, making it 3-0.

The Americans replied with two goals in the space of seven seconds, in the last 90 seconds of the middle period. Finley McCarthy and Claire Enright then took the opportunity to beat Mari Pietersen in quick succession, closing the gap to just one net.

Pietersen recovered well by blocking all 10 shots for the Americans in the third period, completing the game with 29 saves.