Canadian captain Jocelyn Amos celebrates her first-period goal that kickstarted Canada en route to a 2-1 win over Sweden to open the 2024 Women's Euro Hockey Tour in Finland.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Tampere, FINLAND – Nicole Gosling went forehand to backhand and beat goaltender Ida Boman at the 9:25 mark of the second period to give Canada a 2-0 lead over Sweden in the opening game of the 2024 Women’s Euro Hockey Tour.
Gosling’s goal proved to be the game-winner as Canada held on for a 2-1 win in a tight-checking, low-shot and low-Grade A chance affair with its rival from Sweden.
“Communication was a big factor for us as we just got together as a group. A big focus for us is communicating well, making it easy for each other to play with and be predictable,” said Gosling. “It felt good to score and help out the team. We need to keep working on the things that are working for us. It is a short tournament, so we need to keep things simple, focus on the positives and learn more every single game. That is how we will get better every day.”
Jocelyn Amos opened the scoring with a powerplay goal just under six minutes into the first. Amos would also assist on Gosling’s goal for a two-point game. Sweden made things interesting only 30 seconds after Gosling’s marker in the second when Thea Johansson scored, with the assist going to Ebba Hedqvist.
Canada outshot Sweden 19-16 in the game, with Ève Gascon turning away 15 shots for the win in net.
Canada returns to action on Thursday with a game against Czechia, while Sweden faces Czechia on Friday. The six-team tournament is broken into two Groups of three teams each (Finland, Switzerland, USA in Group A; Canada, Czechia, Sweden in Group B), with the teams each playing two round-robin games before the semifinals on Saturday.
This is the first time that Canada and the United States have competed in the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour. The two nations have sent their development teams and the agreement in place is that both Canada and the United States will be included in the event each year through 2028, except during the Olympic year of 2026.
Gosling’s goal proved to be the game-winner as Canada held on for a 2-1 win in a tight-checking, low-shot and low-Grade A chance affair with its rival from Sweden.
“Communication was a big factor for us as we just got together as a group. A big focus for us is communicating well, making it easy for each other to play with and be predictable,” said Gosling. “It felt good to score and help out the team. We need to keep working on the things that are working for us. It is a short tournament, so we need to keep things simple, focus on the positives and learn more every single game. That is how we will get better every day.”
Jocelyn Amos opened the scoring with a powerplay goal just under six minutes into the first. Amos would also assist on Gosling’s goal for a two-point game. Sweden made things interesting only 30 seconds after Gosling’s marker in the second when Thea Johansson scored, with the assist going to Ebba Hedqvist.
Canada outshot Sweden 19-16 in the game, with Ève Gascon turning away 15 shots for the win in net.
Canada returns to action on Thursday with a game against Czechia, while Sweden faces Czechia on Friday. The six-team tournament is broken into two Groups of three teams each (Finland, Switzerland, USA in Group A; Canada, Czechia, Sweden in Group B), with the teams each playing two round-robin games before the semifinals on Saturday.
This is the first time that Canada and the United States have competed in the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour. The two nations have sent their development teams and the agreement in place is that both Canada and the United States will be included in the event each year through 2028, except during the Olympic year of 2026.
United States 4, Finland 0
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Through two periods, the scoreclock showed zeroes next to Finland and USA, as neither team could solve the opposing goaltender.
The Americans, though, blew open the game in the third period, with Abbey Murphy started the scoring at 4:31 and then Joy Dunne and Murphy – with her second goal – scoring less than two minutes apart about midway through the frame.
The Finns pulled goaltender Sanni Ahola at the 55-minute mark to try and mount an improbable comeback, but Team USA’s Ella Huber scored into an empty net at 56:47 to make it 4-0. Murphy got her third point of the game with an assist on the goal.
The United States will take on Switzerland on Thursday, with the host Finns returning to action on Friday against the Swiss. That game could very well determine which of the two teams gets a berth in Saturday’s semifinals.
The Americans, though, blew open the game in the third period, with Abbey Murphy started the scoring at 4:31 and then Joy Dunne and Murphy – with her second goal – scoring less than two minutes apart about midway through the frame.
The Finns pulled goaltender Sanni Ahola at the 55-minute mark to try and mount an improbable comeback, but Team USA’s Ella Huber scored into an empty net at 56:47 to make it 4-0. Murphy got her third point of the game with an assist on the goal.
The United States will take on Switzerland on Thursday, with the host Finns returning to action on Friday against the Swiss. That game could very well determine which of the two teams gets a berth in Saturday’s semifinals.