photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Great goaltending steers the Netherlands into the next round
The Netherlands progressed from the 2025 Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification, Round 3 Group E in dramatic fashion thanks to an overtime goal in Sunday’s decisive game.
It was deadlock through 60 minutes of fine goaltending in a showdown against host nation Great Britain. But in extra time, a power play helped settle the outcome. British goalie Ellie Howard, so impressive throughout the tournament, was unable to control a rebound, and with the home defence shorthanded, Savine Wielenga potted the first goal of the night on 64:14.
Wielenga led the celebrations, but it was 22-year-old goalie Eline Gabriele who truly played a key role in the Dutch success in Sheffield. She allowed just one goal in 184 minutes’ play to backstop her team into the next stage.
For the netminder, who currently plays with Utrecht in the Dutch men’s league, the task was to make the difference in low-scoring games.
“We had trouble with scoring in this tournament because we hadn’t seen each other in a while,” Gabriele said. “We wanted to get back to how we played in [World Championship Division IA tournaments in] China and in Austria.
“But every time it didn’t work out on offence, we just stuck to our defensive game. I’m really proud of the team for that, I think that’s why we were so strong in front of our net.”
For the Dutch, Eline Gabriele shone too, stopping 14 shots to complete 180 minutes of hockey with just a single goal allowed. Notable moments included facing down a 2-on-0 rush from GB late in the second period, getting behind Bethany Hill’s shot and managing the rebound to ensure that Kathryn Marsden could do nothing on the follow-up.
“That was a bit scary,” Gabriele admitted. “All through the tournament I knew I had to keep the goals low. As a goalie you shouldn’t focus on getting a shutout, but here I knew we had such troubles scoring.
“I just knew that any mistake could end the tournament, even though this team is so much better and we have so much potential.”
Britain’s Howard also performed heroically, notably in a first period when the Dutch were a constant menace. The 21-year-old, currently playing ACAC hockey with NAIT in Canada, found herself flattened on her crease at one point in that opening frame, but shook off any ill-effects to frustrate a Dutch offence in which Kayleigh Hamers and Aimee Seppenwolde often caught the eye.
However, GB grew into the game in the second period and had a glorious chance to win it late in the third. A 5-on-3 power play for 1:47 invited the home team to finish the job inside 60 minutes. Again, the Dutch dug deep to limit British looks at Gabriele and help to keep the Olympic dream alive.
“Three-on-five can be really frustrating,” Gabriele added. “When I start getting emotional, I just go through my routine and get back into the game. That’s the only way I can stop the puck in moments like that, PKs like that.”
When the penalties were killed, it felt like a key momentum shift. The Netherlands spurned a power play at the end of regulation and made a lively start to overtime. Kayleigh Hamers tested Howard twice early on. And opportunity knocked for the Dutch when Marsden was called for interference on Gabriele two minutes into overtime. Now it was home head coach Mike Clancy calling the timeout to keep his team in the contest – only for Wielenga to grab the golden goal.
Earlier on Sunday, Latvia faced off with Spain for third place. It ended in a 3-0 victory for the Latvians, with goalie Kristiana Apsite making 28 saves for her shutout. In a tournament marked by strong goaltending, Apsite finished with 95 saves after impressing under pressure in narrow losses to Britain and the Netherlands. Spain, meanwhile, suffered a tough time on offence and failed to score in three games here, despite managing 82 shots on goal.
Victory in Sheffield sees the Netherlands advance to February’s final qualification round. Marco Kronenburg’s team will travel to Gavle to face host nation Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
The Netherlands progressed from the 2025 Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification, Round 3 Group E in dramatic fashion thanks to an overtime goal in Sunday’s decisive game.
It was deadlock through 60 minutes of fine goaltending in a showdown against host nation Great Britain. But in extra time, a power play helped settle the outcome. British goalie Ellie Howard, so impressive throughout the tournament, was unable to control a rebound, and with the home defence shorthanded, Savine Wielenga potted the first goal of the night on 64:14.
Wielenga led the celebrations, but it was 22-year-old goalie Eline Gabriele who truly played a key role in the Dutch success in Sheffield. She allowed just one goal in 184 minutes’ play to backstop her team into the next stage.
For the netminder, who currently plays with Utrecht in the Dutch men’s league, the task was to make the difference in low-scoring games.
“We had trouble with scoring in this tournament because we hadn’t seen each other in a while,” Gabriele said. “We wanted to get back to how we played in [World Championship Division IA tournaments in] China and in Austria.
“But every time it didn’t work out on offence, we just stuck to our defensive game. I’m really proud of the team for that, I think that’s why we were so strong in front of our net.”
For the Dutch, Eline Gabriele shone too, stopping 14 shots to complete 180 minutes of hockey with just a single goal allowed. Notable moments included facing down a 2-on-0 rush from GB late in the second period, getting behind Bethany Hill’s shot and managing the rebound to ensure that Kathryn Marsden could do nothing on the follow-up.
“That was a bit scary,” Gabriele admitted. “All through the tournament I knew I had to keep the goals low. As a goalie you shouldn’t focus on getting a shutout, but here I knew we had such troubles scoring.
“I just knew that any mistake could end the tournament, even though this team is so much better and we have so much potential.”
Britain’s Howard also performed heroically, notably in a first period when the Dutch were a constant menace. The 21-year-old, currently playing ACAC hockey with NAIT in Canada, found herself flattened on her crease at one point in that opening frame, but shook off any ill-effects to frustrate a Dutch offence in which Kayleigh Hamers and Aimee Seppenwolde often caught the eye.
However, GB grew into the game in the second period and had a glorious chance to win it late in the third. A 5-on-3 power play for 1:47 invited the home team to finish the job inside 60 minutes. Again, the Dutch dug deep to limit British looks at Gabriele and help to keep the Olympic dream alive.
“Three-on-five can be really frustrating,” Gabriele added. “When I start getting emotional, I just go through my routine and get back into the game. That’s the only way I can stop the puck in moments like that, PKs like that.”
When the penalties were killed, it felt like a key momentum shift. The Netherlands spurned a power play at the end of regulation and made a lively start to overtime. Kayleigh Hamers tested Howard twice early on. And opportunity knocked for the Dutch when Marsden was called for interference on Gabriele two minutes into overtime. Now it was home head coach Mike Clancy calling the timeout to keep his team in the contest – only for Wielenga to grab the golden goal.
Earlier on Sunday, Latvia faced off with Spain for third place. It ended in a 3-0 victory for the Latvians, with goalie Kristiana Apsite making 28 saves for her shutout. In a tournament marked by strong goaltending, Apsite finished with 95 saves after impressing under pressure in narrow losses to Britain and the Netherlands. Spain, meanwhile, suffered a tough time on offence and failed to score in three games here, despite managing 82 shots on goal.
Victory in Sheffield sees the Netherlands advance to February’s final qualification round. Marco Kronenburg’s team will travel to Gavle to face host nation Sweden, Denmark and Norway.