photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Tim Austen
Canada may be rebuilding, but that doesn’t mean the team is any less dangerous than in the past. Team Canada came out strong, scored three goals in the first period, and bagged a 5-1 win.
Team Canada’s Jessie Eldridge scored two and picked up an assist. Hanna Thuvik scored for Sweden and Ebba Svensson Traff made 36 saves in Sweden’s goal.
"I think we clawed our way back into the game. They got a couple of goals early and some days they go in, other days, they don’t. I just wanted to have fun, and I did have fun. I've dreamed about this for a long time," Svensson Traff said.
"As a team, it was a great start to the tournament. We have new players, and I'm one of them getting my feet wet. It was fun to a part of it," said Team Canada's Kendall Cooper who scored one and added an assist.
With an average age of 26 years, two months and 22 days, Canada’s roster is the youngest at the Women’s Worlds since 2013. All in all, the team has lost more than 1,000 games of international experience since the Olympics last February.
A thousand games.
That didn’t show in the opening game, as the Canadians took command from the first shift on, and it took them less than seven minutes to beat Svensson Traff for the first time. Rosalie Tremblay won a puck battle behind the Swedish net and sent the puck to Kendall Cooper on the blue line. She fired a wrister that Jessie Eldridge redirected through the Swedish goalie’s five-hole at 6:59.
“Jessie Eldrige had a great tip on it," Cooper said.
Canada made it 2-0 on the power play just 3:14 later. Erin Ambrose set up Daryl Watts, who fired a one-timer from the right circle, and Emily Clark got her stick on the puck, sending it over Svensson Traff.
With 1:17 remaining in the period, a broken play and some confusion in the Swedish defense left Rebecca Leslie all by herself in front of the Swedish net. She made a nice deke and scored Canada’s third goal with a nifty backhander.
Sweden couldn’t match the Canadians’ intensity in the period.
"We wanted to come out hard. We’re excited to be here and represent Canada. I think that was a reflection of it on the ice," Cooper added.
In the second period, Sweden had some penalty trouble, taking three minor penalties back to back to back, just as their penalty killers had killed off the previous one. They did it twice, but not a third time.
At 9:38 of the period, Eldridge found Cooper wide open in the slot, and her wrist shot slipped through Svensson Traff’s six-hole to make it 4-0.
Sweden’s penalty woes continued all the way through the second period, when Mira Hall received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slew-footing. Canada created several scoring chances at the end of the second period, but the Swedish PK unit and Svensson Traff kept the score at 4-0.
Canada outshot Sweden 27-7 in the first two periods.
“Sometimes so many penalties can disrupt the flow but I think we managed it well," said Cooper.
The Swedes got on the board 2.37 into the third period on the power play when Mira Jungåker’s point shot hit the crossbar and Hanna Thuvik slammed in the rebound from the goal line.
Energized by their goal, Sweden gained momentum, but another penalty derailed their comeback hopes and when Eldridge scored her second of the night, on power play, with 6.16 remaining, they could then close out the game. Caitlin Kramer and Chloe Primerano picked up assists to the 5-1 goal.
“It’s so fun to be a part of this team. Everybody buys in, and they accept you for your role," Cooper concliuded.
Both Canada and Sweden have a day off on Saturday. On Sunday, Canada will take on Japan while Sweden will play against Finland.
Team Canada’s Jessie Eldridge scored two and picked up an assist. Hanna Thuvik scored for Sweden and Ebba Svensson Traff made 36 saves in Sweden’s goal.
"I think we clawed our way back into the game. They got a couple of goals early and some days they go in, other days, they don’t. I just wanted to have fun, and I did have fun. I've dreamed about this for a long time," Svensson Traff said.
"As a team, it was a great start to the tournament. We have new players, and I'm one of them getting my feet wet. It was fun to a part of it," said Team Canada's Kendall Cooper who scored one and added an assist.
With an average age of 26 years, two months and 22 days, Canada’s roster is the youngest at the Women’s Worlds since 2013. All in all, the team has lost more than 1,000 games of international experience since the Olympics last February.
A thousand games.
That didn’t show in the opening game, as the Canadians took command from the first shift on, and it took them less than seven minutes to beat Svensson Traff for the first time. Rosalie Tremblay won a puck battle behind the Swedish net and sent the puck to Kendall Cooper on the blue line. She fired a wrister that Jessie Eldridge redirected through the Swedish goalie’s five-hole at 6:59.
“Jessie Eldrige had a great tip on it," Cooper said.
Canada made it 2-0 on the power play just 3:14 later. Erin Ambrose set up Daryl Watts, who fired a one-timer from the right circle, and Emily Clark got her stick on the puck, sending it over Svensson Traff.
With 1:17 remaining in the period, a broken play and some confusion in the Swedish defense left Rebecca Leslie all by herself in front of the Swedish net. She made a nice deke and scored Canada’s third goal with a nifty backhander.
Sweden couldn’t match the Canadians’ intensity in the period.
"We wanted to come out hard. We’re excited to be here and represent Canada. I think that was a reflection of it on the ice," Cooper added.
In the second period, Sweden had some penalty trouble, taking three minor penalties back to back to back, just as their penalty killers had killed off the previous one. They did it twice, but not a third time.
At 9:38 of the period, Eldridge found Cooper wide open in the slot, and her wrist shot slipped through Svensson Traff’s six-hole to make it 4-0.
Sweden’s penalty woes continued all the way through the second period, when Mira Hall received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slew-footing. Canada created several scoring chances at the end of the second period, but the Swedish PK unit and Svensson Traff kept the score at 4-0.
Canada outshot Sweden 27-7 in the first two periods.
“Sometimes so many penalties can disrupt the flow but I think we managed it well," said Cooper.
The Swedes got on the board 2.37 into the third period on the power play when Mira Jungåker’s point shot hit the crossbar and Hanna Thuvik slammed in the rebound from the goal line.
Energized by their goal, Sweden gained momentum, but another penalty derailed their comeback hopes and when Eldridge scored her second of the night, on power play, with 6.16 remaining, they could then close out the game. Caitlin Kramer and Chloe Primerano picked up assists to the 5-1 goal.
“It’s so fun to be a part of this team. Everybody buys in, and they accept you for your role," Cooper concliuded.
Both Canada and Sweden have a day off on Saturday. On Sunday, Canada will take on Japan while Sweden will play against Finland.
Sweden vs Canada - 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship
OF