Happy Women’s Worlds season to all! The tournament kicked off Friday with four games. A big win propelled Team USA to the top of Group A, while Czechia handily defeated Austria to take second in the group. Elsewhere, Canada sits atop Group B, with Finland not far behind.
Czechia 4, Austria 1
This year’s tournament is huge for Austria, who’s been promoted to the top division for the first time in history. Although their first game resulted in a 4-1 loss to Czechia, there are some positives to take away from this one for the newcomes.
Austria opened the scoring just 7:03 in and held the lead for nearly 12 minutes against a tough Czech team. Anna Meixner scored from the doorstep, beating Klára Peslarová for Austria’s first-ever goal at the top division. Meixner has been Austria’s captain since 2022, so it’s an extra-special tally for her at this level.
With just 1:05 left in the first period, Klára Hymlárová tied the game on a nice setup from Aneta Tejralová. Hymlárová, in front, received a quick pass from Tejralová and tapped it into a wide-open net with the goalie out of place.
Natálie Mlýnková gave Czechia its first lead just past the midway point of the second period, shortly after an Austrian penalty expired. Mlýnková deflected a point shot from Sára Čajanová as she flew in front of the net.
Kateřina Mrázová scored twice in the third period, including an empty-netter, to seal the win for Czechia. Mrázová’s first goal came amid a scramble in front of the net, as she was able to find the loose puck and bury it on the far right side of the net.
Austria challenged Mrázová’s empty-net goal for offsides, but was unsuccessful. Over the course of the game, Austria was unable to capitalize on three power play opportunities, and took a few too many penalties for their own good.
Austrian netminder Selma Luggin certainly deserves some credit for keeping the game close. Czechia put up 46 shots on goal, including 22 in the third period. Luggin, who has a 0.98 GAA in four games of EWHL action this season, finished the game with 42 saves.
Meanwhile, Austria managed just 12 shots, half of which came in the first period.
Mrázová finished the game with three points, including an assist, and went 70.6% in the faceoff circle. She was named the best player of the game for Czechia, who secured its first win under new head coach Brian Idalski.
Other Games on Day 1
Sweden vs. Canada
To no surprise, Canada opened its Women’s Worlds tournament with a commanding 5-1 win over Sweden on Friday. Jessie Eldridge had three points, while Kendall Cooper registered a goal and an assist in her senior national team debut. Rosalie Tremblay notched her first point with the senior national team, awarded the primary assist on Eldridge’s opening goal.
After Eldridge opened the scoring, Emily Clark made it 2-0 on Canada’s first power play of the game. Rebecca Leslie added to the lead before the first period ended.
Early in the second period, Sweden found itself in penalty trouble with three minors in quick succession. On the third power play of the period, Cooper scored to make it 4-0 for Canada. Sweden’s Nicole Hall also got a major penalty and game misconduct with 3:14 left in the period for slew-footing.
Hanna Thuvik scored Sweden’s lone goal 2:37 into the third period on the power play, but there was little redemption. The team proceeded to once again take three penalties in quick succession soon after – three minors in a span of 5:58. Eldridge capitalized on the last, sealing the 5-1 win.
Ann-Renée Desbiens only faced 14 shots in the win. To her credit, Ebba Svensson Träff made 36 saves. Notably for Canada, Sarah Fillier was not in the lineup and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Switzerland vs. United States
The Swiss were no match for the defending gold medalists, as the United States captured an easy 7-0 win Friday. Hannah Bilka and Laila Edwards each had two goals, and Team USA put up four in the third period en route to victory.
Bilka opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first period at 9:01, capitalizing from in front to chip in the puck after Taylor Fox put it on net.
Casey O’Brien scored her first goal with the senior national team at Worlds early in the second period. O’Brien worked hard in front of the net amid a scramble, eventually able to jump on a loose puck, turn and score.
Later in the period, Edwards added a power-play marker just 15 seconds in the advantage. She tipped a shot from Caroline Harvey in front, with the assistance of a screen by Joy Dunne, to beat Andrea Brändli.
Bilka and Edwards both scored in the third period, along with Kirsten Simms and Hilary Knight. Harvey, the reigning IIHF Female Player of the Year, registered three assists and was named the best player of the game.
Overall, 12 American players recorded at least a point. Aerin Frankel was perfect on eight shots, while her counterpart for Switzerland Andrea Brändli – made 31 saves.
Denmark vs. Finland
Finland handily won its first-ever game against Denmark at Women’s Worlds, with a 3-0 victory. Finland outshot Denmark 59-6, including 25-0 in the first period. That’s reportedly just the 25th instance in Women’s Worlds history of a team being held to zero shots in a period.
Elisa Holopainen opened the scoring for Finland just 3:56 in, firing off a wicked blast of a shot from below the faceoff dot. You’ve got to see this one:
Let’s call the second period the Nuutinen show. First, Emma scored to make it 2-0. Exactly two minutes later, Sofia scored her first goal with the senior national team to increase the lead – and shorthanded, no less!
Nikita Bergmann put Denmark on the board early in the third period, but there was no mounting a comeback against the Finns. Petra Nieminen added a goal, her first of the tournament, at 7:27 to finish off (or should I say Finn-ish off?) the scoring.
Props to Denmark’s netminder, Emma-Sofie Nordstrøm, who made a whopping 55 saves. At the other end of the rink, Sanni Ahola faced just six shots.
Denmark’s Josephine Asperup led all skaters across Friday’s four games with 26:12 TOI.
In Other News…
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention two negative things that have happened this week with regards to Women’s Worlds. First, Team Canada and Team USA’s jerseys. The teams have been mandated to wear generic jerseys (see below) for the tournament.
The issues stem from a commercial rights agreement issue circulating around the IIHF, True Hockey, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, Bauer and CCM. You can read more about the issues here.
In a word, these jerseys are terrible. While it ultimately doesn’t affect the on-ice play, it’s a shame that these players who are at the pinnacle of international hockey are wearing what looks like a bad beer league jersey.
Elsewhere, I’ve got to dole out a bit of shame on the IIHF and their social media team. The federation’s “power rankings” have always been a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the first one of Women’s Worlds feels especially icky.
Yes, that really does say “Our stars are producing and reproducing” for Team USA. It’s clearly a reference to Kendall Coyne Schofield and Britta Curl, both of whom recently announced their pregnancies. But it’s a very, very weird statement, and undoubtedly one you’d never see in men’s sports.
Can we just stick to what the players in the tournament are doing on the ice, and not make weird comments about their fertility? Is that too much to ask?
Tomorrow’s Games (November 7)
Germany vs. Austria
7pm (Local) / 1pm (EST)
Japan vs. Denmark
7pm (Local) / 1pm (EST)
