A. Sweden National Ice Hockey Team CUSTOM Hoodie, Shirt

Sweden defeated host Switzerland 6-1 in the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship opener with three first-period goals in 2: 26. Forwards On Saturday, Isabelle Leijonhielm and Hilda Svensson scored and assisted. Captain Ebba Hedqvist scored and assisted three times. Jenna Raunio and Mira Hallin each had two assistants. “It was very fun to start off like this with a win, and a big win,” said Leijonhielm. Elisa Dalessi scored Switzerland’s only goal. Swedish goalkeeper Maja Helge defeated Swiss goalkeeper Talia Benderer. The dominant blue-and-yellow team scored three power-play goals on 38-25 shots. The Swedish team that won a surprising silver medal in Ostersund last year has 11 returning players under coach Andreas Karlsson. That experience helped against the Swiss, who have never finished higher than sixth (2019). ” I think it very much helps that we have so many players from last year,” Leijonhielm. We love each other in our large group. A great team on and off the ice is great. ” “We’re so happy to have the tournament here and we were ready,” said Swiss coach Melanie Haefliger. But we know it’s new for the young girls. Three goals against in three minutes made it hard to maintain team momentum and energy. We had breakaways, penalty shots, and other chances to get back. ” Despite the cold and rain outside the Zug arena, the cowbell-ringing Swiss fans inside warmed the atmosphere. In 2015, this 30,000-person lakeside city co-hosted the IIHF men’s U18 Worlds with Lucerne. Both teams had first-period chances. Three-time U18 Women’s Worlds player Hedqvist sprang Hallin for a solo break that went over the crossbar. On the other end, Helge blocked Swiss captain Naemi Herzig’s slot shot. Switzerland paid after multiple minor penalties. Sweden scored first on the power play at 15: 34. Hedqvist was stop by Benderer’s right pad, but Leijonhielm scored the rebound. Hedqvist tipped Hallin’s low shot at 17: 00 for 2-0. A minute later, HV71’s 2023 SDHL rookie of the year Hilda Svensson found Leijonhielm for Sweden’s third goal. Sweden led 12-5 in the first period. Swiss improved in the middle frame. After Ella Hellman was sent off for tripping, defender Nellie Svensson was caught closing her hand on the puck during a flurry around Helge’s net, resulting in a penalty shot. Helge blocked Ivana Wey’s forehand. That was Switzerland’s last chance to rejoin. Hallin scored 4-0 at 7: 45. MoDo Hockey forward stole the puck inside the offensive blue line, dipsy-doodled past Swiss blueliner Miriani Bottoni, and knifed a backhander past Benderer. Herzig was stopped on a first-minute breakaway in the third. Later, her frustration continued as she rang one inside the post. Leijonhielm praised her netminder: ” Maja’s great. Maja’s calmness makes the ice players feel safe. ” Hilda Svensson’s power-play shot at 4: 47 put Sweden up 5-0 after Benderer got a piece but not enough. A run-in with Linnea Natt och Dag left Switzerland’s Leoni Balzer shaken with under seven minutes to play. The Djurgarden blueliner was penalized for roughing after a review, and Dalessi scored a power play goal with 3: 18 left to finally delight the crowd. ” That was really good because at least when you are losing 5-0 you just try to score at least one or two goals,” said Dalessi. ” It was exciting because being at home, all the people here were for us so they cheered. ” With 1: 08 left, Hilda Svensson restored Sweden’s five-goal power play lead. Sunday is off for both teams. Switzerland will try to beat the 2023 bronze medalists U. S. on Monday, while Sweden plays Slovakia. ” We know that the Americans are a big wall for us, but we’ll take this chance,” Haefliger. Switzerland may play the U. S. for the first time in a while. We know that will be a big game for our girls. We want to take the game slowly and learn. ” Sweden and Switzerland never mix at the U18 Women’s Worlds. Sweden dominates this rivalry. This was their seventh straight win since the 2008 Calgary tournament. Sweden leads in goals (23-4), but the Swiss have closed the gap. The 2019 and 2020 tournaments ended 2-0 and 2-1. IIHF Council Member Marta Zawadzka and local organizing committee head Kathrin Lehmann opened the tournament in a pre-game ceremony. Current Zug hockey vibe is strong. Longtime national team captain Lara Stalder returned after six years to help EVZ Zug’s new women’s team win promotion and go 12-0 this season. The Zug men’s team is third in the Swiss NL. The U18 Women’s Worlds continue through January 14, giving fans more to cheer about. Sweden National Ice Hockey Team CUSTOM Hoodie, Shirt

More Information About Sweden National Ice Hockey Team CUSTOM Hoodie, Shirt

Sweden National Ice Hockey Team CUSTOM Hoodie, Shirt. Sweden wants to build on silver, USA wants to replay. Only two days remain until the 2024 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship begins. Team USA can avenge last season’s shock semi-final exit to Sweden in Group B, and everyone is excited to see Slovakian sensation Nela Lopusanova. Switzerland completes the quartet. Sweden (2023 Silver): Local heroes separated the North American giants last year. Sweden won its second gold medal in this tournament after defeating the USA in the semi-finals. No other European nation has beaten bronze. Goalie Felicia Frank and scorer Mira Jungaker are too old this time. Much of the silver team is back in Zug, and head coach Andreas Karlsson can call on 11 familiar faces to continue to unsettle Canada and the US. The returning Hilda Svensson led her team in Ostersund with 6 (4+2) goals. She then scored 11 points for the senior women’s team at the April World Championship and continued her good form at Chomutov’s December warm-up tournament. She scored 8 (3+5) points in wins over Slovakia, Finland, and the Czech host nation. Her growing partnership with centre Isabelle Leijonhielm helped Sweden dominate there, giving Karlsson confidence for the worlds. United States (2023 Bronze): Sweden’s win eliminated the US from the WW18 final for the first time. The American program has had great success at this tournament and will be determined to win again. Liz Keady-Norton, assistant coach last year, is back as head coach and has recalled seven 2023 players. Forwards Maggie Scannell and Josie St. Martin are hoping to win gold in their third WW18 tournament after silver (2022) and bronze (2023). In Ostersund, Scannell led her team with 8 (4+4) points. Preparations in the US were poor. The annual August U18 select series against Canada ended in three heavy losses: 0-4, 1-6, and 2-5. After a slow start, the Americans were more competitive in the last of those three games. The USA and Sweden will face off in the final group stage game on Jan. 10. Slovakia (6th 2023): In a North American-dominated tournament last year, Nela Lopusanova broke the mold. The Slovak forward was named MVP for her unbelievable 12 points in five games, including the first female ” Michigan” in IIHF play. At 14, all. She returned this year with more highlight reel goals after becoming a viral sensation. Nela, playing for Bishop Kearney Selects in the US, makes the Michigan look ordinary. Lopusanova stands out as one of four foreign players on a Slovak national championship-mainly recruited team. Following last year’s tournament, goalie Livia Debnarova, defender Alexandra Mateikova, and forward Michaela Paulinyova will return. Overall, 14 players return from last year. Changes behind the bench. Gabriela Sabolova replaces Miroslav Mosnar, who first coached internationally as an assistant on the U18 team in 2012/13. She took Finland to overtime in last month’s four-team tournament in Chomutov, minus Lopusanova, in the best performance. Sabolova said Slovakia’s poor finish hurt: “We can see progress, but the tournament also showed some minor shortcomings that we want to focus on. ”
Switzerland (2023 7th): Swiss have been in the top flight since 2014, when they were promoted. In every season except one, a relegation playoff has maintained that status. Melanie Hafliger’s team must avoid another home ice survival struggle in Zug this year. Switzerland’s 2024 class is tournament-savvy. Four of 11 returning players are here three times. Additionally, Alena Lynn Rossel, Naemi Herzig, and Ivana Wey have played for the senior women’s team. Halfliger hopes this tournament will inspire a new generation of young Swiss players with home ice advantage. “I am convinced that playing the World Championship in our own country will boost women’s ice hockey,” she said. “We are a hungry and ambitious team. . . we put together a roster that lives 100% of our identity and will represent our country with passion and energy. ” Sweden National Ice Hockey Team CUSTOM Hoodie, Shirt