Canada to the semifinals in women’s hockey with a 3-0 victory over Sweden
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HERNING, DENMARK — Sarah Potomak had a goal and an assist to lead Canada to a 3-0 victory over Sweden in a Women’s Hockey World Cup quarterfinal on Thursday.
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Jocelyne Larocque and Erin Ambrose also scored for the reigning champions, who face Switzerland in Saturday’s semifinal.
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The medal games are Sunday.
Canadian starter Ann-Renee Desbiens posted a nine-save shutout on Thursday.
Emma Söderberg, who manages the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs net, was a workhorse with 54 saves for Sweden.
Minus captain Lara Stalder and top scorer Alina Mueller due to COVID-19, the Swiss beat Japan 2-1 in a shootout on Thursday.
The Czech Republic, coached by former Canadian defender Carla MacLeod, scripted the upset of the tournament so far, reaching the semifinals for the first time with a 2-1 overtime win over Finland.
The U.S. had an easier time of it in its 12-1 quarterfinal win over Hungary to face the Czechs on Saturday.
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American forward Hilary Knight’s goals and assists to reach 87 career World Cup points surpassed Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser for the all-time record.
Canada and Sweden met in a world championship game for the first time since 2009, although the Canadians beat the Swedes 11-0 in an Olympic quarterfinal in February.
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Söderberg lasted two periods of the quarterfinals in Beijing, but she swallowed the puck on Thursday.
Sweden, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, was relegated in the 2019 World Championships.
The national team then boycotted international competition in protest against compensation and other competition issues. The dispute was settled later that year.
The Covid-19 pandemic eliminated World Cup second-tier Sweden to win promotion, but world No. 8 replaced Russia in this year’s 10-nation tournament.
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The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned Russia from tournaments because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Canada generated sustained pressure in Sweden’s end for long stretches of the first and second periods, but Soderberg helped limit the Canadians to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Ambrose threaded a shot from the point over Söderberg’s shoulder at 13:10 of the third period.
Three power-play chances in the first 10 minutes of the second yielded no goals for Canada, which went 0-for-8 overall, but Potomak scored with a highlight-reel even strength.
She scraped the puck off the neutral zone boards, sliced by Swedish defenseman Maja Persson Nylen who went backhand to forehand to free Söderberg at 13:56 of the second period.
Larocque scored his first World Cup goal in the veteran defender’s 10th tournament.
Outscored 14-1 in the first period, the Swedes held Canada scoreless until 17:11 when Renata Fast, under the goal line, fed Larocque in front for a successful wrist shot top shelf.
Canadian head coach Troy Ryan continued to juggle his forward lines from the previous day’s practice, notably moving Victoria Bach to a trio with Marie-Philip Poulin and Brianne Jenner, and Sarah Nurse getting ice time with Sarah Fillier and Emily Clark.