Finland won their fourth game to clinch top spot in Group B.
photo: Matt Zambonin / IIHF
Finland defeated Hungary 5-0 this afternoon at CAA Centre before a loud and boisterous pro-Hungary crowd. With the win Suomi finishes a perfect 4-0 in the preliminary round and takes first place in Group B. The win now ensures Finland will play the third-place team in Group A in one quarter-finals game on a jam-packed Thursday.
With the loss, Hungary is now in a must-win situation tomorrow against Germany. France has been demoted, and one other team will join them—Hungary, Germany, or Sweden. A Hungary win, however, won’t guarantee a QF spot, though, as the Sweden-France game will also play a critical role in the final standings.
"We were a little nervous early in the game," suggested Hungary coach Pat Cortina, "We were giving the puck away when we had a little more time than we thought. But when we made plays and started to move our feet, we got out of our zone with energy and created a bit of offence. They got a couple of bounces today, and we didn't."
The Finns got goals form five players, three from the blue line corps, while Sanni Ahola stopped 15 shots for her first career shutout at the senior Women's Worlds level.
"I thought we were doing pretty well the whole game," said Finnish forward Jenniina Nylund, one of the scorers. "We were focused and scoring a lot of goals, and I felt like we were pretty fast and we were able to outskate them. I think our D-zone has been pretty good so far, and that's something that we still need to focus on. Our goalies have been awesome as well."
"We battled hard," Hungary defender Taylor Baker said. "They're a great team , but we showed heart. The result wasn't what we wanted, but we're going to come back tomorrow and battle hard. We're a fast team, so we've got to use that to our advantage."
The Finns started off slowly again, as they did two days ago against Sweden. They had precious few scoring chances in the early going but did manage to score the only goal midway through the opening 20. Nelli Laitinen’s quick point shot went all the way through a screen, beating Aniko Nemeth, who didn’t see the puck until it was on its way out.
Although shots favoured Suomi 11-3 in the opening 20 minutes, only a couple were dangerous as Hungary did a good job keeping Finland’s star players to the outside.
The Finns doubled their lead early in the second on a power play when Jenni Hiirikoski’s point shot went the distance. It was her first goal since April 13, 2019, when she gave Finland a 2-1 lead over Canada in what turned out to be an historic 4-2 win in the semi-finals.
Hungary almost got on the board on a power play of their own, but despite heavy pressure around Ahola’s goal they couldn’t push the biscuit over the line. On the same PP, Petra Nieminen had a breakaway and tried the Peter Forsberg move, only to have the clever play stopped nicely by Nemeth.
The Finns then blew the game open in record fashion. They scored twice in six seconds, tying the Women’s Worlds record set by the U.S. back on April 5, 2005. The first goal, at 16:15, came on a power play, Nylund jamming the puck in on a mad scramble in the blue ice. Then, off the ensuing faceoff at centre, the Finns had a quick 2-on-1 and Emilia Vesa finished the play off with a shot between Nemeth’s pads.
The third passed uneventfully, the Finns in complete control. In the final minute, a third defender scored on a drifting shot from the point, this time Ronja Savolainen with only 13.6 seconds remaining to complete the scoring.
With the loss, Hungary is now in a must-win situation tomorrow against Germany. France has been demoted, and one other team will join them—Hungary, Germany, or Sweden. A Hungary win, however, won’t guarantee a QF spot, though, as the Sweden-France game will also play a critical role in the final standings.
"We were a little nervous early in the game," suggested Hungary coach Pat Cortina, "We were giving the puck away when we had a little more time than we thought. But when we made plays and started to move our feet, we got out of our zone with energy and created a bit of offence. They got a couple of bounces today, and we didn't."
The Finns got goals form five players, three from the blue line corps, while Sanni Ahola stopped 15 shots for her first career shutout at the senior Women's Worlds level.
"I thought we were doing pretty well the whole game," said Finnish forward Jenniina Nylund, one of the scorers. "We were focused and scoring a lot of goals, and I felt like we were pretty fast and we were able to outskate them. I think our D-zone has been pretty good so far, and that's something that we still need to focus on. Our goalies have been awesome as well."
"We battled hard," Hungary defender Taylor Baker said. "They're a great team , but we showed heart. The result wasn't what we wanted, but we're going to come back tomorrow and battle hard. We're a fast team, so we've got to use that to our advantage."
The Finns started off slowly again, as they did two days ago against Sweden. They had precious few scoring chances in the early going but did manage to score the only goal midway through the opening 20. Nelli Laitinen’s quick point shot went all the way through a screen, beating Aniko Nemeth, who didn’t see the puck until it was on its way out.
Although shots favoured Suomi 11-3 in the opening 20 minutes, only a couple were dangerous as Hungary did a good job keeping Finland’s star players to the outside.
The Finns doubled their lead early in the second on a power play when Jenni Hiirikoski’s point shot went the distance. It was her first goal since April 13, 2019, when she gave Finland a 2-1 lead over Canada in what turned out to be an historic 4-2 win in the semi-finals.
Hungary almost got on the board on a power play of their own, but despite heavy pressure around Ahola’s goal they couldn’t push the biscuit over the line. On the same PP, Petra Nieminen had a breakaway and tried the Peter Forsberg move, only to have the clever play stopped nicely by Nemeth.
The Finns then blew the game open in record fashion. They scored twice in six seconds, tying the Women’s Worlds record set by the U.S. back on April 5, 2005. The first goal, at 16:15, came on a power play, Nylund jamming the puck in on a mad scramble in the blue ice. Then, off the ensuing faceoff at centre, the Finns had a quick 2-on-1 and Emilia Vesa finished the play off with a shot between Nemeth’s pads.
The third passed uneventfully, the Finns in complete control. In the final minute, a third defender scored on a drifting shot from the point, this time Ronja Savolainen with only 13.6 seconds remaining to complete the scoring.