With four different goal-scorers, the U.S. beat Sweden 4-0 to secure first place in Group B on Wednesday. In the quarter-finals, the Americans will face Germany, while the Swedes battle Czechia.

The U.S. took charge in the second period, scoring three times. Mary Derrenbacher impressed with a goal and an assist, and Ellie Dimatos totalled two helpers. In a duel of number one goalies, the U.S.’s Layla Hemp earned her first shutout versus Sweden's Maja Helge. Shots favoured the U.S. 35-28.

"Our team at times played exactly the way that we need to play," said U.S. coach Liz Keady Norton. "And we obviously got an excellent performance from Layla Hemp in net."

"I had some chances I think I have to score on," said Sweden's Hilda Svensson, who led her nation with 11 points at the 2023 Women's Worlds. "Maybe not my best game. But I think it's good because now we can prepare for the next game and show that we can do better."

The Americans have medalled at every IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship since the inaugural 2008 tournament in Calgary. They’re eager to top the podium again after stumbling to a bronze medal last year in Ostersund. They haven’t won gold since 2020 in Bratislava.
 

The newly promoted Germans have lost three straight games by an aggregate of 23-1 and will be heavy underdogs against the Americans.

Wednesday's first game was the most hotly anticipated Group B tilt, as the Swedes shocked the U.S. 2-1 in the 2022 semi-finals. That marked the first time the blue-and-yellow squad has ever defeated an American team at this tournament. Sweden ended up with a home-ice silver medal after losing the final 10-0 to Canada.

"It felt really good to beat them after what happened last year," said defender Rose Dwyer, one of seven returnees from 2023. "Experiencing that pain in the semifinals got a lot of our team fired up."

"I think going into it, we were all confident because we had a few games under our belt," added forward Haley Box. "We were like, 'Oh, we can play as a team.'"

Here, though, the Swedes dominated early on and could easily have led. They peppered Hemp with shots during their first power play with U.S. captain Maggie Scannell off for an illegal bodycheck. 

Then Swedish captain Ebba Hedqvist went off for tripping Jordyn Petrie in front of Helge’s net. The U.S. took just 16 seconds to cash in on the power play at 17:41. Dimatos shot from the top of the right fadeoff circle and Haley Box converted the rebound for her second goal of the tournament.

The U.S. got another 5-on-4 when Sweden’s Ella Hellman took down Derrenbacher cutting hard to the net. The Frolunda blueliner jumped out of the penalty box for an early second-period breakaway. Hellman had Hemp down and out as she deked to the forehand, but the puck trickled wide.

Josie St. Martin got a glorious chance when defender Wilma Georgny blew a tire in the Swedish zone, but the U.S. assistant captain couldn't solve Helge on the blocker side.

However, shortly afterwards, Scannell moved in off the right side and slid a cross-crease pass to Derrenbacher, who made no mistake for a 2-0 lead at 5:54.

"When Maggie passed it, I knew I had to bury it," said Derrenbacher, the youngest U.S. player at age 15. "It had to be in the back in the net! It felt nice just to get our team going."

Sweden's luck didn't improve as Hilda Svensson hit the cross bar on the power play. Morgan McGathey put the U.S. up 3-0 at 15:28, jamming in a backhander during a goalmouth scrum.

Kassidy Carmichael put the game out of reach with a high glove-side snipe at 18:03. Tempers began to flare now, and a shoving match sent the U.S.'s Macy Rasmussen and Sweden's Emilia Bergby Hallbeck off with coincidental minors.

The final stanza saw Hemp continuing to frustrate the Swedes, including a great pad save on Hilda Svensson from in tight.

The Czechs, Sweden's quarter-final foes, have had an uneven run in Zug. They squandered a two-goal lead in their opening 3-2 loss to Finland, got hammered 8-1 by Canada, and bounced back to beat Germany 6-1. Regardless, the Swedes won't take them lightly, especially in view of the back-to-back bronze medals Czechia has captured at the senior Women's Worlds.

"I think it's gonna be fun," said Sweden's Jenna Raunio. "It's always fun to play against the Czechs. They're a good team, but I think we play maybe a bit the same. So we're gonna go for it. "

U,S. assistant captain Bella Fanale, another returnee from last year, made her 2024 debut, but only played 2:40. The Bishop Kearney Selects forward missed the first two games due to an injury sustained during pre-tournament action versus the Czechs.