Sweden dominated Denmark to open the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Utica, New York with a 3-1 win.
In the opening period, Denmark's Emma-Sofie Nordstrom was the difference maker in net. The 5-foot-10 backstop stopped everything Sweden threw at her and forced shooters by aggressively standing her ground atop the crease. The St. Lawrence University netminder and ECAC All-Star is the only thing standing between Denmark and relegation.
In the second period Felizia Winker Zienkiewicz got Sweden on the board first. Taking a long pass into the neutral zone, Winker Zienkiewicz cut to the middle of the ice before reversing the flow to beat Nordstrom high on the glove side. Sweden continued to keep Denmark pinned in their zone peppering Nordstrom with breakaways and net front attempts. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Lina Ljungblom opened the lead to 2-0 taking a feed from Hilda Svensson in the slot on the powerplay, dropping to one knee for leverage before beating Nordstrom five-hole
Outshooting Denmark 20-0 in the second period, Sweden carried all the momentum to the third. Josefin Bouveng capitalized off that momentum banking a puck off Nordstrom to make it 3-0. The University of Minnesota star scored 50 points in the NCAA this year, and it was only her second ever World Championship goal.
Denmark got one back late in the third period as Emma Soderberg came out to play the puck but it jumped as she made her pass. The miscue allowed Denmark to shovel a puck toward the net where captain Nicoline Jensen was waiting to pot Denmark's first of the tournament on the empty net.
The game would end with a 3-1 Swedish win.
Denmark will face Germany tomorrow in what will be a key game to avoid relegation for both nations, while Sweden has a day off.