IIHF – Canada, Sweden seek gold
Sweden will have a rare opportunity to not only win gold, but to do so on home ice.
If North American dominance in the women’s hockey world is to fall, however, Sweden must topple defending gold medalist Canada to do so.
The teams meet at 8:00 PM (2:00 PM ET).
A Swedish victory would be nothing short of monumental. Canada leads the all-time series at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship 10-0 and has outscored the Swedes 56-10. Nor has Sweden ever beaten Canada at the Olympics or the Women’s World Cup.
The Swedes last appeared in the gold medal game in 2018, falling 9–3 to the USA to earn silver.
Canada, meanwhile, has appeared in all but one gold-medal game — in 2018 — and has gone on to claim six titles.
The Swedes have an advantage: a sold-out crowd at Östersund Arena. However, it offers little guarantees. Only once has a host team taken gold at this event. The US did it in Buffalo, New York in 2015.
Both teams are coming off intense one-goal wins in their semi-final encounters.
The Swedes held off the USA with a 2-1 win on Saturday. Mira Jungaker and Astrid Lindenberg scored in the second period 2:32 apart. Felicia Frank made 37 saves – 12 in the third period alone – to deny the Americans a 15th straight trip to the gold medal game.
The Canadians, meanwhile, needed overtime to defeat the Finns 3-2. Canada trailed 2-1 in the third, but Alex Law scored with 7:22 left in regulation to force overtime. The Canadian penalty kill went 3-for-3 in the final minutes of the third and early in overtime before Law delivered the game-winner 7:32 into sudden death.
When these teams met in the preliminary round, Canada escaped with a 4-2 win in a game that featured a total of 40 penalty minutes, 10 of which were for illegal hits or roughing.
Penalties plagued the Swedes early in the tournament. With most players skating in the SDHL – which allows for body checking – there was an adjustment to be made at the international level where the tactic is not allowed.
In the medal round against Slovakia and the USA, they cleaned up their game. Only three of Sweden’s nine violations have been for an illegal hit or rough handling.
Canada’s Caitlin Kraemer leads her team with seven points, second most in the tournament behind Slovakia’s Nela Lopusanova’s 12. Kraemer’s six goals are also second to Lopusanova’s nine. Alex Law is second on Canada with six points, despite playing just three games due to a one-game suspension in round-robin play.
Sweden’s Hilda Svensson is in fourth place with six points (four goals, two assists). Mira Jungaker leads all defensemen with five points (three goals, two assists).
In net, fans will find an even matchup.
Hannah Clark has shouldered the workload for Canada, appearing in three of her team’s four games. She has a save percentage of 0.939 and an average of 1.60 goals in just over 187 minutes of playing time. At the opposite end, Frank is expected to start. She has a .938 goals-against average and 1.50 save percentage in 239 minutes.
The game will be broadcast nationwide in Sweden on SVT, while TSN and RDS will cover in Canada. The competition can also be seen on NHL Network in the USA and on Discovery in Finland.