Two games opened the Women's Euro Hockey Tour in Kloten, Switzerland, with Finland defeating the Czechs 3-1 and hosts Switzerland defeating Sweden 4-2
Finland opened the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour in Kloten, Switzerland with an encouraging 3-1 win over Czechia, while the Czechs began a new era under head coach Brian Idalski.
Both teams entered the tournament with questions. Finland was coming off a disappointing Olympics in which generating offense was an issue, while Czechia arrived without several of its veteran players and with Idalski making his debut behind the bench. The Czechs generated more of the early opportunities, but it was Finland that struck first.
Julia Schalin showed patience with the puck at the offensive blue line, drawing a Czech defender toward her before making a slick pass to create a two-on-one. Emmi Juusela finished the play to give Finland an early 1-0 lead.
Finland doubled its advantage on the power play when Ohio State’s Sanni Vanhanen made it 2-0. Veteran defender Jenni Hiirikoski didn’t earn an assist on the goal, but helped keep the possession alive at the blue line before moving the puck down low. Back on the ice with Finland, Hiirikoski appeared to be used sparingly rather than taking a regular shift.
Czechia answered before the end of the opening period, with Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Tereza Vanišová creating the opportunity. Vanišová, who looked dangerous throughout the game, used her speed to attack the net before sending the puck across to Adéla Šapovalivová, who converted on the power play to cut Finland’s lead to 2-1.
Czechia also made a goalie change after the opening period, replacing starter Klára Peslarová with Clarkson University’s Aneta Šenková.
The Czechs continued to push in the second and were handed a prime opportunity with a brief five-on-three advantage. Natálie Mlýnková had their best chance, but Finland survived and carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
Both teams showed some early-season rust, with turnovers and sloppy stretches of play, but Finland held on despite Czechia generating its share of chances. Ottawa Charge goaltender Sanni Ahola earned the win, while Šenková kept Finland off the board at the other end for her two periods of action.
Viivi Vainikka, a Minnesota draftee, finally put the game away with an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final.
Switzerland opened its Women’s Euro Hockey Tour on home ice in Kloten with a 4-2 win over Sweden, giving new head coach Shannon Miller a victory in her first game behind the Swiss bench.
The matchup was a rematch of the Olympic bronze-medal game, and by the third period there were signs that some bad blood from that meeting had carried over.
Sweden needed just 47 seconds to take the lead. Ohio State defender Mira Jungåker sent a wrist shot toward the net that slipped through Swiss starter Saskia Maurer for an early 1-0 advantage. Maurer got the start for Switzerland over PWHL Detroit draftee Andrea Brändli , who was the backup.
The Swiss got an equally stoppable one back midway through the period. Holy Cross forward Naemi Herzig slid a puck past Ebba Svensson Träff at 9:52 to even the score.
Then, with just 24 seconds remaining in the opening period, Switzerland took its first lead. The puck somehow found its way through a scrum of bodies in front and onto the stick of Lara Stalder, who tucked it behind Svensson Träff to send the Swiss into the intermission up 2-1.
Alina Müller provided the highlight of the second period. The PWHL Hamilton star gathered a loose puck and broke in on a two-on-one, but didn't need the second option. Müller kept the puck and ripped a shot blocker side past Svensson Träff at 6:30 to extend the Swiss lead to 3-1.
Sweden made things interesting again in the third. A puck caromed off the end boards and in front of the net, where Hilda Svensson capitalized to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But Müller had another answer.
On a third-period power play, Müller picked her spot and sniped her second goal of the game to restore Switzerland’s two-goal advantage at 4-2. The two-goal performance from Switzerland’s biggest offensive weapon secured Miller’s first victory as Swiss head coach.
