Lisa Johansson scored twice and helped her team earn a spot in the 2026 Olympics
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ELIN GRANEBRANDT
The stakes were high, and crystal clear: The winner of the game between Sweden and Denmark would earn a spot in the 2026 Olympics. The Swedes left nothing to chance and punched their Olympic ticket with a 5-0 win.
With that, Team Sweden, the highest ranked team in the tournament, finished first in Group H, and they did it with style, winning all three games without allowing a goal.
Lisa Johansson and Jenna Raunio scored twice each for Sweden, and Sara Hjalmarsson collected three points. Emma-Sofie Nordstrom made 49 saves for Denmark.
"We came out strong, like we wanted to, and had a lot of time in their zone. We knew Denmark is a good team and that they have some really skilled players so we wanted to create traffic in front of the net, get some pucks through and do all those boring things, and play a solid 60-minute game,” Johansson said.
Sweden outshot Denmark 6-0 in the first eight minutes of the game, but no dangerous chances and Nordstrom in Denmark’s goal had little trouble keeping the pucks out of the net.
“Team Denmark was the best team we played here; they played a structured game trying to keep us on the outside,” Swedish defender Jenna Raunio told the Swedish television. That was her first goal in the Team Sweden sweater.
“It can be mentally tough to play games like this that you’re expected to win because we all know that if you don’t prepare and give a 100 percent, things can change quickly in hockey,” Johansson said.
However, the Swedes kept peppering Nordstrom with shots relentlessly, and it was their seventeenth shot of the period, a Jenna Raunio wrister from the point, that found its way to the back of the net with 1.26 remaining in the first period, after a quick tic-tac-toe by Hanna Thuvik and Sara Hjalmarsson.
Sweden got a better start to the second period when Emma Forsgren carried the puck into the Danish zone and sent a saucer pass from the corner. It landed on the tape of Johansson who deflected it into the net for 2-0, at 3.21.
"It’s tough when the opponent collapses and defences the slot, so we wanted to do whatever it takes to create scoring chances,” Johansson said.
Johansson, 32, scored her second goal of the game and her fifth point of the tournament at 10:47 when Elin Svensson’s slap shot was blocked by a Danish defender and the puck bounced to Johansson who one-timed it into a wide-open net.
“In the first goal I got a great pass, all I had to do was keep my stick on the ice and in the second the puck came straight to me,” Johansson told the Swedish TV. “We need to stay focused.”
They did.
Sweden outshot Denmark 6-1 in the first four minutes of the period and at 4:22, Hjalmarsson deflected Paula Bergstrom’s point shot to the back of the net for 4-0.
Raunio scored her second of the game with a snipe from the slot, beating Nordstrom on the short side at 15:49, making it 5-0.
“I’m grateful for the chance to play here. As long as I play hockey; I want to play at an elite level,,” said Johansson.
It doesn't get much more elite than the Olympics.
With that, Team Sweden, the highest ranked team in the tournament, finished first in Group H, and they did it with style, winning all three games without allowing a goal.
Lisa Johansson and Jenna Raunio scored twice each for Sweden, and Sara Hjalmarsson collected three points. Emma-Sofie Nordstrom made 49 saves for Denmark.
"We came out strong, like we wanted to, and had a lot of time in their zone. We knew Denmark is a good team and that they have some really skilled players so we wanted to create traffic in front of the net, get some pucks through and do all those boring things, and play a solid 60-minute game,” Johansson said.
Sweden outshot Denmark 6-0 in the first eight minutes of the game, but no dangerous chances and Nordstrom in Denmark’s goal had little trouble keeping the pucks out of the net.
“Team Denmark was the best team we played here; they played a structured game trying to keep us on the outside,” Swedish defender Jenna Raunio told the Swedish television. That was her first goal in the Team Sweden sweater.
“It can be mentally tough to play games like this that you’re expected to win because we all know that if you don’t prepare and give a 100 percent, things can change quickly in hockey,” Johansson said.
However, the Swedes kept peppering Nordstrom with shots relentlessly, and it was their seventeenth shot of the period, a Jenna Raunio wrister from the point, that found its way to the back of the net with 1.26 remaining in the first period, after a quick tic-tac-toe by Hanna Thuvik and Sara Hjalmarsson.
Sweden got a better start to the second period when Emma Forsgren carried the puck into the Danish zone and sent a saucer pass from the corner. It landed on the tape of Johansson who deflected it into the net for 2-0, at 3.21.
"It’s tough when the opponent collapses and defences the slot, so we wanted to do whatever it takes to create scoring chances,” Johansson said.
Johansson, 32, scored her second goal of the game and her fifth point of the tournament at 10:47 when Elin Svensson’s slap shot was blocked by a Danish defender and the puck bounced to Johansson who one-timed it into a wide-open net.
“In the first goal I got a great pass, all I had to do was keep my stick on the ice and in the second the puck came straight to me,” Johansson told the Swedish TV. “We need to stay focused.”
They did.
Sweden outshot Denmark 6-1 in the first four minutes of the period and at 4:22, Hjalmarsson deflected Paula Bergstrom’s point shot to the back of the net for 4-0.
Raunio scored her second of the game with a snipe from the slot, beating Nordstrom on the short side at 15:49, making it 5-0.
“I’m grateful for the chance to play here. As long as I play hockey; I want to play at an elite level,,” said Johansson.
It doesn't get much more elite than the Olympics.