Day two of the World Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships began with Group A action between Norway and Australia, followed by a Group B matchup between Great Britain and Team World.
This was the first women's para hockey game for the Norwegian side, while Australia, who lost 8-0 against the United States on day one, were in search for their first win, and goal, in their first women's para hockey tournament.
It didn’t take long for the crowd to start celebrating, as Norway’s captain Lena Schroeder, a Moss native, opened the scoring just 12 seconds in, breaking in on Australia’s goaltender Erika Gosney following the game's opening face-off. Not done there, she went on to score two more, capping off the hat trick within the game’s first 1:34.
Australia struggled in the opening frame to clear the puck from their zone, looking like a group who played hard in their opening game, while Norway used their speed and puck handling skills to full advantage. Following the end of the first period, Norway led 6-0 over Australia, looking anything like a debut team.
As Norway continues through this tournament, offsides will need to become a focus, as their strong offensive attack would often be whistled down before they could gain the zone. This was on full display throughout the second period and the top teams in the tournament will look to exploit this in future games. Australia had a number of communication breakdowns in their own zone, resulting in unnecessary scoring chances, but the team did play strong defence in front of Gosney, collapsing down low and blocking shots.
The lone goal scored in the second frame came from Tønsberg native Karen Reite who was able to tuck in the rebound to make it 7-0 Norway.
Despite their more aggressive start to the third frame, Australia wasn't able to match Norway's strong skating and puck handling, finding themselves once again on the losing end in another shutout. The final in this one was 7-0 for the Norwegians.
Australia's Rosa-Lee Principe, who had a strong defensive game, and Norway's Sara Emilie Fiskerud, a second period goal scorer, received Player of the Game awards.
Group B then took centre stage, with Great Britain seeing their first action of the tournament, while Team World was looking to rebound following a 10-0 loss to Canada on day one.
This was the first evenly matched game of the tournament, as both teams battled for every puck, played well at both ends of the ice and were fast through all three zones. Forward Felicity Gregory scored the first power play goal of the tournament, giving Great Britain the early 1-0 lead. Team World responded late in the period, as defender Akari Fukunishi was able to fight off a tough Great Britain backcheck to tie the game, 1-1, with a wrist shot that beat Nicole Hill.
Both teams settled in throughout the second period, resulting in multiple high danger scoring chances. Great Britain's Felicity Gregory found the back of the net once again, capitalizing early on a poor clearing attempt from Team World, helping her team regain the game's lead. Team World thought they had tied the game with their own power play goal, as they were able to tuck it in behind a sprawling Hill, but it was waved off, deemed not to have crossed the line, keeping the score 2-1.
Strong defensive plays from both sides dictated action throughout the third period, as neither team wanted to give their opponent any sort of advantage. Despite a strong effort from Team World, Great Britain won by a final of 2-1, moving onto the semi-final and a chance at a higher seating with a win against Canada. Team World, along with Australia, will play for fifth and sixth place in the Classifications game on Saturday.
Japanese defender Akari Fukunishi took the Player of the Game award for Team World, while forward Felicity Gregory received the award for Great Britain.
Tomorrow's slate of games will see the United States face-off against Norway in Group A action, with puck drop at 10:00am EST, followed by Ground B action between Canada and Great Britain at 1:30pm EST. All games can be streamed live through the Paralympic YouTube channel and the World Para Ice Hockey's Facebook page.