On the third day of action in Denmark at the 2022 women’s World Championship, the tournament’s top teams got back into action.
USA, Canada, Czechia, and Sweden all remained undefeated and the top teams in their groups as the quarterfinal picture begins to come into view. Finland fell to 0-2 in the tournament but will face easier competition after losing to Canada and the USA.
Here are game recaps from Day 3, and the three stars from today’s competition.
USA Beats Finland In Display Of Force
USA was relentless on the attack from the drop of the puck until the final buzzer in a 6-1 win over Finland.
Jincy Dunne got the Americans on the board early on a point shot through traffic that eluded Finnish netminder Anni Keisala, who was spectacular in a 66-save losing effort. In the second period, veterans Abby Roque and Amanda Kessel scored power-play markers to increase the USA’s lead. Roque’s net-front presence for the USA proved the difference on the power play when she screened Keisala before tipping home a Cayla Barnes shot at 28:33. With less than three minutes remaining in the second, Roque again corralled the puck on top of the blue paint and slid a pass across the crease to Kessel who was waiting to shovel home the USA’s third goal of the game.
In the third, the chemistry between Amanda Kessel and Taylor Heise, who had five assists in her debut with Team USA at this tournament, continues to shine. Heise sent a behind-the-back pass to Kessel in the slot where she scored her second of the game. In the closing minutes of the contest, Hannah Bilka scored an empty netter and Hannah Brandt also tallied to break things wide open for the USA.
With the win, the USA improved to 2-0 in the tournament, while Finland fell to 0-2 having already lost to Canada.
Sweden Edges Germany in a Shootout
After blowing a 3-0 lead Hanna Olsson and youngster Mira Jungaker played heroes for Sweden in a 4-3 win over Germany in Group B.
Lina Ljungblom opened the scoring at 32:48 with a one-timer on the power play. Less than three minutes later, Hanna Olsson scored her fourth of the tournament, pulling the puck across the crease and tucking it home in tight.
In the third period, Paula Bergstrom scored for Sweden at the 46-minute mark, which looked like it would be enough for Sweden to take the win. Germany, however, had other plans, fighting back with three unanswered goals in the final eight minutes of play. Nina Christof got things started for the Germans before sisters Nicola Eisenschmid and Tanja Eisenschmid, who also chipped in a pair of assists, got Germany even. The tying goal by Tanja Eisenschmid, a shot from the slot through the five-hole, came with only 42 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.
After the extra frame solved nothing, the game headed to a shoutout where Olsson and Jungaker scored the only goals. Swedish goaltender Emma Soderberg, who made 21 saves in the win, stopped each German attempt to take the win.
Fillier Lifts Canada Over Switzerland
Canada’s young star Sarah Fillier was the catalyst for the reigning champions who handed Switzerland a 4-1 loss to remain undefeated early in the 2022 women’s World Championship.
At 10:15 of the first, Fillier pulled the crowd to the edge of their seat as she circled the zone and eventually ripped a shot from high in the slot that found the back of the net on a redirect. Nearing the midway point of the game, Fillier did it again, collecting a turnover near the blueline before walking in and putting the puck short side on Swiss netminder Andrea Braendli. Later in the second period, Victoria Bach, Blayre Turnbull, and Emily Clark went tic-tac-toe with Clark finishing the play from the slot to give Canada the 3-0 lead heading into the third.
Switzerland’s Alina Marti scored on a rush to make the game 3-1, and late in the game, a quick whistle on a loose puck that entered Canada’s net could have made it 3-2, but Canada managed to fend off multiple power-play chances and a shift in momentum to preserve the lead.
Shortly after killing their third penalty of the period, Blayre Turnbull grabbed a turnover and got to the middle of the ice before going five-hole with only 1:11 left on the clock. The goal gave Canada a 4-1 lead, which is how the game would end.
Czechia Stays Perfect Beating Denmark
Czechia jumped into first place in Group B after beating Denmark 5-1 in their second game of the tournament.
The game’s scoring opened on a fluke dump-in by Denmark’s Michelle Weis that took a bounce and found the net from outside the blueline eluding Czechia’s Klara Peslarova. Tying the game five minutes later, Czechia’s Katerina Mrazova took a pass outside the blueline before splitting the Danish defenders and putting the puck top shelf over Lisa Jensen’s glove. From that point in the game, Czechia would not look back peppering 49 shots on Jensen.
Czechia pulled ahead at 35:38 with a two-player advantage on the power play when Mrazova sent a spectacular cross-crease pass to Natalie Mlynkova who was there to put it home. Then, only 37 seconds into the third period, Daniela Pejsova made a move around a checker at the blueline and scored from the high slot to extend the lead for Czechia.
Denmark found themselves in penalty trouble for much of the third period allowing Michaela Pejzlova to increase the lead to 4-1 at 55:16 with the player advantage, followed by Pejsova scoring her second of the game at 58:20 to cap off Czechia’s 5-1 victory.
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Three Stars Of The Day
1. Anni Keisala, G (FIN): Without the stability of Keisala, Finland’s fate against the USA would have been much worse. Keisala played calm, staying square and challenging shooters while weathering the American onslaught. In total, she faced 72 shots against a relentless American attack. Despite the game eventually getting out of hand, Keisala remained composed sending rebounds out of harm’s way, and giving Finland a fighting chance to stay in the game.
2. Sarah Fillier, C (CAN): If there is a player in this tournament with the potential to lift you out of your seat on any given shift, it’s Fillier. On her first goal, Fillier momentarily considered trying “the Michigan” before circling the zone and scoring off a redirect. Her second goal of the game was a corralled turnover where she walked low and went shortside. At the last World Championship, we talked about the coming of Fillier’s stardom, but at this tournament, she has arrived.
3. Amanda Kessel, RW (USA): Her line of Taylor Heise and Alex Carpenter were everywhere in game two, but it was Kessel’s finishing touch, and on-ice vision that kept the attack moving. Kessel found open space on each of her goals, connecting on a second-period power-play goal and a third-period even-strength marker. She also assisted on Jincy Dunne’s first-period goal. From wire to wire, when the USA was threatening, Kessel was in the mix.