Confident Canadians keeping it light ahead of knockout stage at women's hockey worlds

The women's hockey world championship is heating up.

On the ice, the quarterfinals at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont., begin Thursday. Canada takes on Sweden, while other matchups feature U.S.-Germany, Finland-Czech Republic and Switzerland-Japan.

Off the ice, the temperature reached 26 degrees on Wednesday and is supposed to remain warm through Sunday's medal games.

Canada, which went 4-0 in group play, enters the knockout stage with a sunny disposition.

In a full day off the ice on Tuesday, the team held a brunch for family and friends, breaking from the rhythms of a tournament that began over a week ago.

Back at practice on Wednesday, Ryan said it was less about teaching and more about tightening some things up. The group doesn't appear to be tense — at one point, Blayre Turnbull collided with a teammate who got up quickly, only to immediately trip back over Turnbull's stick.

Neither player was injured, but Turnbull spent a couple extra beats down, smacking the ice with her hand in laughter.

"A big part of our team is always staying loose and having fun and that's what we're trying to do moving forward," Turnbull told CBC Sports.

Outside of a chaotic final minute in a 4-3 shootout win over the U.S., Canada was rock solid in sweeping through the preliminary stage.

"We've won championships when we've beat [the U.S.] and we've also won championships when we've lost to them," Ryan said after that game. "The one thing we do like is it's a home-ice advantage moving forward."

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Obviously, Canada was guaranteed home ice when the tournament was awarded to Brampton in January. And the crowds have certainly been raucous in support of their home team.

But as top seed now, Canada will get the last line change, allowing Ryan to control matchups. The win over the U.S. also keeps spirits high.

"In these events it's a lot easier to work on some things when you're in a good place," Ryan said.