2022 Worlds: Canada beat Sweden to advance to semifinals
After a 3-0 victory over Sweden, Canada advances to the semi-finals.
Jocelyn Laroque got things going. At the end of the first period Despite being a mainstay on the national team, this was her first Worlds goal of her entire career. This is not entirely surprising given that she is certainly known for her defensive play. Renata Fast set up Laroque beautifully, dancing around the back of the net through the Swedish defense before passing the puck to Laroque who was wide open next to the hash marks.
Sarah Potomak scored for Canada in the second, followed by Erin Ambrose in the third. Both goals were further examples of Canada being able to break down the Swedish defense by applying pressure in exactly the right places.
It was a scrappy and hard-fought match, with several penalties awarded for rough and illegal tackles on both sides
Despite the 3-0 shutout, it was an impressive match for the Swedish team. Going in, this game had the potential to be a blowout in favor of the Canadians, but they were held to just four goals. Sweden’s penalty killing stood out; despite taking eight penalties over the full 60 minutes, they denied the Canadian power play every time.
The shots were incredibly lopsided, with most of the play on Sweden’s defensive side of the ice. The shots were 57:9 in favor of Canada. Söderberg got 14 shots in the first, 19 in the second and as many as 24 in the third. It is a testament to her own skill as a goalkeeper that she only allowed three goals.
On the other end of the ice, Ann-Renee Desbiens got the nod between the pipes and stopped nine shots for her first (and Canada’s second) shutout of the night.
Soderberg arguably had the more difficult job of the two goalkeepers, taking more high-quality dangerous shots in one period than Desbiens did in the entire match.
Canada now has a meeting with Switzerland to decide which of them advances to the gold medal game while Sweden is officially out of medal contention. The winner of that match will then play the winner of the other semifinal match between Team USA and the Czech Republic.