A recap of the the second two games' action from January 10, 2025, day one of the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Sydney and Membertou, Nova Scotia.
Read about the opening two games here.
Sweden 4, Hungary 1
This is Hungary's first time at the top level in 12 years after winning the D1A tournament last year in convincing fashion on home ice. But they come to Nova Scotia with hopes of breaking the trend where the promoted team immediately gets relegated.
Saturday's performace against Sweden certainly showed they're a group to be reckoned with as they kept their opponents in check and held it to a one-goal game into the third frame. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion at this point which team will be up for relegation. There's a lot of tournament left and it feels like the bottom four teams will need to work hard to stay out of that relegation game.
For Sweden, they were patient and didn't get frustrated. They didn't lose focus and were prepared every time Hungary pushed back a bit. They played a good goalie and adapted. They didn't just keep shooting with no purpose and hoping for the best. I liked how they moved the puck and held the zone and waited for their oppotunities. It felt like a really mature approach and that the nerves of the day didn't get to them.
Next up: Sweden faces Switzerland Monday at 1 PM local time, 12 PM eastern time. Hungary will meet Canada Monday 6 PM local time, 5 PM eastern time.
What We Learned:
- Finding the physicality balance – There's usually a pretty obvious difference in the Swedish style of play versus everyone else in this tournament, especially in the opening few days. The league most of these players play in allows body checking, the IIHF does not. The result is usually that Sweden spends a decent amount of time in the penalty box. But it felt like the Swedes came in with a better grasp on the fine line they have to skate when it comes to contact. To be fair, Hungary said they knew they'd have to deal with Sweden's physicality and did a good job of matching it at times, which might have helped with my perception. But coach Andreas Karlsson said he thought his team did a good job with the balance and meeting the IIHF rules on contact.
- Hungary mindset – Captain Réka Hiezl was a joy in the mixed zone after the game. She was excited and thoughtful and I really loved her attitude. She was asked about confidence and if correctly understand what she was saying, she feels like if her team plays their game, confidence takes care of itself. I believe the question was more about nerves and playing on a bigger stage than they have, but she was introspective and I liked hearing her thought process. She also talked about hoping to be a good role model for her teammates and younger players and just wanting ot be there for them to ask questions. Invariably at these tournaments I meet a few new-to-me players that just really stick with me and make me want to root for them. Hiezl is the first so far in Nova Scotia.
Standout Performances:
- Hungary G Zoé Takács – This probably won't be the last time I shout her out, but it feels like there's no one else to choose here. Hungary was in a tough spot in their very first game at this level in a long time and Takács' play allowed her team to settle in, making 14 of her 30 saves in the first period.
- Sweden F Moa Stridh – At just 15, she's got a huge runway and I loved the way she played a little fearlessly on Saturday. She led the team with nine shots on net. She moved well, looked for openings and though she did have a lot of shots, there were at least two times where I noticed her pass up a low percentage shot to move the puck. She seems to have great instincts and didn't look out of place among older skaters. She's played just a handful of games in the SDHL so far and has a couple of assists for Frölunda.
Quotable:
"We tried our best. We have to play physical and be in our structure. We have a great group. We have the confidence and we can evaluate the game well. I think we did well and we hope that we'll play better in the upcoming games." - Hungarian coach Zoltan Fodor on getting a goal
"We have good courage and we fought really hard. We got used to playing at this level. The pace is different and especially Sweden is physical. We understand now what's going on, what it loks like. I believe that like we did this game, period by period we'll get better and then we have momentum." - Fodor on what he liked from his team in this game
"She's great. She's the best goalie I know. She's always giving 100% or more. I don't know what would happen with the game, with the team, if she's not there. We're just really glad that she's there always. She's a great teammate." - Hungary captain Réka Hiezl on goalie Zoé Takács
"It feels good [to have scored] but I'm sad we didn't score. I think the first period was really good. We were a little nervous. But then we came into the second period really good - faster. But we need to play for three periods, not just 2.5. I think that was the problem, but we can learn from this." - Hiezl
"We are really a team that plays with our heart. We keep pushing and pushing and we can do that all the way." - Hiezl
"I think we started very well. The second period was not so consistent. It was too much of a backward and forward game." - Sweden coach Andreas Karlsson
"When we're not playing our best hockey, we need to be consistent and play as a group and be connected. Not play individually." - Karlsson
"I think we skated [the nerves] away in the first shifts. I think we just keep building on that." - Sweden captain Ebba Westerlind
"It means a lot [to be captain]. I've never had that before." - Westerlind
"We want to trust our game and trust our plan. We were pretty confident with what we had. Obviously we would like more pucks to go in but we did a good job." - Westerlind
Canada 9, Switzerland 0
The Canadians had eight different goal scorers - Alida Korte is the one who netted two goals - and looked as in control and powerful as we all expected.
Switzerland changed goalies just 12 minutes into the game after Anne-Eugenie Gendre gave up four goals on 13 shots. Norina Schrupkowski entered and finished the game, giving up five goals on 38 shots in nearly 48 minutes of play, including a couple of highlight reel saves that had some Canadian parents' jaws' dropped.
It was a slowish start for Canada and what looked to be their first goal was called back, but Piggott broke through just over seven minutes in and that changed the tenor. Canada settled in, Switzerland was on their heels and Canada added four more goals over the ensuing ten minutes.
Once they found their footing, Canada felt calm and methodical. They moved the puck, camped out in the zone and even without looking at the box score I could have told you they had contributions across the board. It felt like it didn't matter who was on the ice and the team had roughly the same time on ice across all their lines.
Ultimately it was a perfectly fine if mostly unremarkable start for Canada and I don't think things will get any more interesting in their next game. For what it's worth, I'll be watching the details - the 200 foot game, the faceoffs, set plays, special teams - more than the game as a whole itself. I htink we'll learn more about what they're capable of there.
The game was just under a sellout with about 1,100 people in attendance on a Saturday night.
Next up: Switzerland will play Sweden Monday at 1 PM local time, 12 PM eastern time. Canada faces Hungary Monday 6 PM local time, 5 PM eastern time.
What We Learned:
- Defense first and always – Having eight different goal scorers was unsurprising to coach Vicky Sunohara, who said the staff is well aware how offensively gifted the team is. That's why the big focus has been on the defensive end. Even in a runaway game like Satruday's, she was looking for her team to be prepared for any counter, to start moving backwards as soon as possession looked in question and generally be more worried about what happens outside their offensive blue line than what happens in it.
- Into the deep end – Both goal Norina Schrupkowski and coach Melanie Häfliger talked about being happy to face Canada first. If you're going to have to up your game and play at a level you're not able to replicate, nothing better than doing it right away. Now the Swiss know exactly what needs work and where they were exposed.
Standout Performances:
- Switzerland G Norina Schrupkowski – She was the second player that charmed me on the first day. First of all, she said her English wasn't very good and then nailed a full and wonderful interview. As I reminded her, I speak no Swiss German, so she was already ahead of me. But she was also just endlessly positive despite her team's loss. She said she loves a busy game, would rather make dozens of saves and finds it easy to just move on to the next thing and wipe a goal from her memory because focusing on the past doesn't change it.
- Canada F Rachel Piggott – She led the team in points with three on a goal and two assists and won 12 of the 13 faceoffs she took. On a team that loves puck possession, faceoffs are key and Piggott said getting better at them was the main note she received from staff after camp this summer. With such balance an talent across the board, it can be difficult to stand out on team Canada, but I thought Piggott was everything you'd want to returning player to be in the first game of the tournament.
Quotable:
"We often get teams' best games against us. I think we settled into the game pretty quick. Not the quickest of starts. It took us a bit, but we saw some good habits. That's the way we have to play, but we have to play like that for 60 minutes. We didn't do that today." - Canada coach Vicky Sunohara
"We talked at the beginning that we wanted to have a great start. We wanted to dictate the pace of the game. We talked about faceoffs which I thought we did a really good job on tonight," - Sunohara
"Just communicating with each other is a big thing. Making sure we're on the same page when we go on the ice. I've had the amazing opportunity to play with Sophia (Ismael) now for three years and (Alida) Korte, too, makes everyone around her better. It's fun to play with them." - Canada F Rachel Piggott
"There's a lot to take away. We take the experience. We take the speed. We take the battle level and the competition. So for us we can go harder. Learn a lot. For the girls it's a very nice experience." - Switzerland coach Melanie Häfliger
"We have to find ways to play against these teams. We were in a good flow for the first few minutes." - Häfliger
"For me (as the U18 coach) it's every year the same. I get some new girls. They don't have the experience of playing in the world championhips and we don't have in Switzerland this competition level at this age." - Häfliger
"The absolute goal for us this game was to never give up. It was tough and it was frustration. But for us it's very important that we build up from this game." - Häfliger
"I think I'm the kind of person who loves to come in the game and say 'I have to play well, now.' I was really prepared and ready from the beginning. And playing such a great team, I loved it." - Switzerland G Norina Schrupkowski
"We knew from the beginning that they're such a strong team. You can learn from those games. You have to forget the goals that already happened. Just forget it and play like it's 0-0." - Schrupkowski
"They're such a great team. The shots were 51-11. For a goalkeeper it's so nice to see so many shots. I have a rest day tomorrow, so I can stand it." - Schrupkowski
(Photo: Nicole Haas
