Lina Ljungblom scored twice for Sweden to lead her nation to a 4-1 win over Germany to open the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament in Milano Cortina. Germany opened the scoring on a power play maker by Nina Jobst-Smith, but it was all Sweden from there on out. Germany's only lead of the game was short lived as Montreal Victoire forward Lina Ljungblom knotted the game at 1-1. Heading to the second period tied, Ljungblom gave Sweden the only lead they'd need just over seven minutes into the second on the power play. She shovelled home a puck net front on her backhand beating Montreal teammate Sandra Abstreiter in net for the 2-1 lead. In the final minute of the frame, again on the power play, Ohio State defender Mira Jungaker took a pass before firing a shot high in the right circle beating Abstreiter top shelf for a 3-1 Swedish lead. Finally in the third period Thea Johansson directed a puck through Abstreiter on a 2-on-1 with fellow NCAA forward Hilda Svensson to make it 4-1 Sweden. Sweden dominated the play throughout the game outshooting Germany by more than 2-1 in the game, finishing with a 37-16 decision. Sweden started 21-year-old netminder Ebba Svensson Traff surprising some by opting for the young netminder over Emma Soderberg in the crucial Group B opener. Svensson Traff made 15 saves in the win, while Abstreiter turned aside 33 in the loss. Germany and Sweden were expected pre-tournament to be two of the top teams in Group B who would advance to the quarterfinals. Sweden has lived up to that expectation with their 4-1 win. Both teams will now have a day off with Germany facing Japan and Sweden facing Italy on February 7.
