Canada’s Under-18 Team won a gold medal at the 2012 Under 18 World Championship, blanking the United States 3-0 on Saturday night at PSG Arena in Zlin in the Czech Republic.

Alexis Crossley scored the game-winner off a rebound at 9:04 of the first period, Sarah Lefort made it 2-0 on a power play five minutes later and Cydney Roesler capped it off for Canada at on another power play late in the third, while Emerance Maschmeyer made 28 saves for the shutout.

Earlier Saturday, Sweden defeated Germany 4-1 to take the bronze medal at the World Championship, which started Dec. 31 and ran through to Jan. 7.

The last and only other time Canada won gold since the tournament’s inception five years ago was at the 2010 championship in Chicago, Ill., where the Canadians beat the United States 5-4 in overtime. Canada claimed silver in 2008 in Calgary, Alta., 2009 in Füssen, Germany, and 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Canadians have faced their American rivals in all five gold medal games.

Canada’s Erin Ambrose was named Best Defenceman, as selected by the IIHF directorate, while Germany’s Franziska Albl was named Best Goaltender and Alex Carpenter of the U.S. was named Best Forward. The top three Canadian players, as selected by the IIHF directorate, were Ambrose, Cayley Mercer and Roesler.

In preliminary round action, Canada defeated Switzerland 13-1 on Saturday, Germany 6-0 on Sunday and Finland 7-0 on Tuesday, earning a bye straight to semifinals, where Canada shut out Sweden 7-0 on Friday night.

“Each and every player and staff member on this team is truly golden,” said head coach Pierre Alain. “They have all represented Canada with class, both on and off the ice, and are truly deserving of this year’s world championship.”