Canada, USA Continue To Roll, Sweden, Switzerland Pick Up Important Wins

On the third day of play at the Women's World Championship in Denmark, North American teams continued their dominance, while Sweden and Switzerland picked up important victories in the group stage.

Sweden Tops Nordic Rival Finland

Sweden rode a fast start to a 4-1 preliminary-round win over Finland, scoring twice in the opening period before withstanding a Finnish push in the second.

Ida Karlsson opened the scoring at 4:14, and Hilda Svensson doubled the lead on the power play with a wrist shot from the left circle. Finland responded with sustained pressure in the second, but Sweden struck against the run of play when Sara Hjalmarsson tipped home Mira Jungåker's point shot for a 3-0 lead.

Petra Nieminen answered 2:30 later, redirecting Siiri Yrjola’s shot to make it 3-1, but Finland could get no closer. Tilde Grillfors added an empty-netter for her first World Championship goal.

Ebba Svensson Traff made 26 saves for Sweden, while Sanni Ahola stopped 28 for Finland.

“We started really well, dipped in the second period, and then came back to our own level in the third,” Jungaker said. “We’re trying to put ourselves in a good position for the playoff round and we knew that the game against Finland would be a huge part of that.”

U.S.A. Dominates Germany, Continue Perfect Defense

The United States continued its strong start to the tournament with a 5-0 win over Germany, following its opening 7-0 victory over Switzerland.

Germany held its own early, testing American goaltender Aerin Frankel and getting several saves from Sandra Abstreiter. However, Casey O’Brien opened the scoring 14 minutes in, and Lacey Eden redirected Emma Peschel’s shot with 21 seconds remaining in the first period to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.

Alex Carpenter extended the lead with a one-timer six minutes into the second period, as the U.S. dominated play and outshot Germany 14-2. Hannah Bilka added another goal in the third before Joy Dunne completed the scoring late in the game.

“We are just getting back together after a long offseason and we need a couple of games just to get comfortable with each other again,” said American forward Abby Murphy. “We are trying to find our best game and when we are at our best, we are unstoppable.”

Despite the loss, Abstreiter earned Germany’s player of the game honors and remained optimistic about upcoming matchups against Czechia and Switzerland.

“We know Czech and Switzerland are both very strong teams and maybe a level above us, but if we play our best game, I think we have a chance against both of them,” she said.

Canada Comes Up Big Against Japan

Defenders led the way for the Canadians, scoring four of their nine goals in a one-sided victory over Japan. 

Chloe Primerano opened the scoring with her first Women’s World Championship goal at 6:29. Erin Ambrose doubled the lead later in the period with a shot from the slot.

Canada dominated possession and outshot the Japanese 58-14. Daryl Watts and Kendall Cooper each recorded a goal and an assist, while Eve Gascon made 14 saves for the shutout. Japan’s Riko Kawaguchi stopped 49 shots.

Watts scored on a two-player advantage early in the second period, and Rosalie Tremblay made it 4-0 after a Japanese turnover behind the net.

Canada added five goals in the third period. Cooper scored on a rebound, followed by Emma Maltais on a top-shelf wrist shot. Sophie Jaques connected on the power play as well. Two late goals by forwards Sarah Wozniewicz and Caitlin Kraemer made the final score a lopsided 9-0.

Canada remains undefeated against Japan in IIHF Women’s World Championship competition.

Switzerland Takes Down Czechia In Overtime

Alina Müller scored at 1:39 of overtime to give the Swiss a huge win over Czechia, 2-1. Swiss goaltender Saskia Maurer was huge in net to aid in the upset.

Ivana Wey opened the scoring for Switzerland in the first period, converting a rebound from Müller during four-on-four play. The goal came during a five-minute Czech penalty after Klara Hymlarova received a game misconduct for boarding, although a Swiss penalty briefly reduced the advantage.

Czechia responded three minutes into the second period when Linda Vocetkova carried the puck through the neutral zone, beat a defender and fired past Maurer to tie the game. The Czechs dominated the remainder of the period, outshooting Switzerland 21-1 and generating several chances around the net. Maurer kept the game tied with a series of saves, including during a brief two-player disadvantage late in the period.

The third period was more evenly contested, with Switzerland creating more opportunities while Czechia continued to control much of the possession. Czech goaltender Klara Peslarova denied Wey twice with four minutes remaining, while Müller made a key defensive play late in regulation, backchecking to prevent Vocetkova from getting a clear shot after a turnover.

Neither team could break the deadlock before overtime, when Müller found space in the slot and fired a shot into the top corner to secure the Swiss victory.

Maurer was instrumental in the win, particularly during Czechia’s dominant second period, as Switzerland claimed two important points in the battle for a potential place in the medal round.