Sweden's Hanna Thuvik scores the opening goal of the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship on Germany's goalie Sandra Abstreiter.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Matt Zambonin
Sweden made a winning start to the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia. An engaging Group B battle against Germany swung the Swedes’ way with two quick goals at the start of the third period. Tallies from Anna Kjellbin and Thea Johansson opened a 4-1 lead.
That was too much for Germany to recover despite a power play goal from Emily Nix midway through the final stanza. Sweden closed out a 5-2 victory.
“It feels amazing,” Kjellbin said. “We ended last year’s Worlds losing against Germany so starting against them and playing like this makes me super-proud of the whole team. It’s something to build from.”
That was too much for Germany to recover despite a power play goal from Emily Nix midway through the final stanza. Sweden closed out a 5-2 victory.
“It feels amazing,” Kjellbin said. “We ended last year’s Worlds losing against Germany so starting against them and playing like this makes me super-proud of the whole team. It’s something to build from.”
As part of the opening day, the Czech organisers invited local schools to get involved, choosing a team to support and coming along with home-made flags, banners and, in some cases, Viking helmets. The initiative was a success, with a crowd of 4,207 generating a lively atmosphere for this 11am face off – and the teams responded.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” said Germany’s Luisa Welcke. “It was fun to play in front of so many fans.”
And Sweden’s Hanna Thuvik also enjoyed the noise. “During the power break, it was so loud!” she said.
From the first moments, this was a full-on contest. Germany’s Nicola Hadraschek landed a strong – but legal – challenge on Thuvik in the first minute, setting the tone for first period that was fast-paced and physical.
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Thuvik recovered from that early jolt to score the game’s opening goal midway through the first period. German goalie Sandra Abstreiter went behind the net but a breakdown in communication with Charlott Schafrath enabled Lisa Johansson to nip in and steal the puck. Abstreiter recovered to keep out an attempt on the wraparound, but Thuvik got in front of Celina Haider to stab home the rebound.
“Of course, it feels good [to score the first goal],” Thuvik said. “But my linemates did a really good job working it in front of the net, and I just shot it. So, I have a lot to thank them for.”
The Swedes were decent value for that first-period lead and continued to press after the intermission. Abstreiter made a smart save early in the middle frame to deny Lina Ljungblom before Mira Hallin doubled the lead after 28 minutes. She reacted fastest to beat the goalie as Hanna Olsson’s shot from the left-hand circle cannoned back off the boards.
Germany went undefeated through last year’s group stage and arrived in Ceske Budejovice hoping to challenge for a medal. In the face of early adversity, Jeff MacLeod’s team responded with a fine goal from Luisa Welcke. She got the puck at the top of the right-hand circle and unleashed a beautiful wrist shot through the narrowest of lanes to find the inside of Emma Soderberg’s far post. Welcke’s twin sister Lilli had an assist on that play as the Boston University pair continued their productive form from last year’s championship.
“I just saw an open spot under her blocker,” said the German scorer. “We wanted to get some shots through and keep things a little simpler. So, I tried taking the shot and it worked out.”
But this was destined to be Sweden’s day. At the start of the third period two quick goals put the game out of reach. Germany will feel that it could have done better on both: first, as play broke out from the boards, defender tracked Swedish captain Kjellbin as she moved down the channel. Linnea Johansson’s feed picked her out and she found the top shelf. Within a minute, a goal out of nothing made it 4-1. There seemed to be nothing for Thea Johansson as she fired the puck hopefully across the face of goal, but a deflection off Abstreiter’s skate took it into the net.
Depth in scoring also powered Sweden, and that didn’t go unnoticed either. “We had five different players scoring today,” Kjellbin added. “It’s really good depth in our team. I'm just super-happy that we came out there and played as we did today.”
The German bench responded by calling a time out but could not make inroads until a power play midway through the session. As Hallin sat for an illegal hit, a well-worked play saw Laura Kluge set up Nix for a sweet effort from the circle.
But that was as far as the fightback got. An empty net goal from Hanna Olsson with 67 seconds to play completed an impressive start to the tournament for the Swedes.
Germany, despite the defeat, is hopeful of better to come.
“We didn't have the start that we wanted to have,” Welcke concluded. “But I think we can just take the positive things, learn from our mistakes, and take that into our next game.”
For Sweden, meanwhile, the plan is more of the same against Hungary. Kjellbin summed it up: “The key was playing simple from the beginning, using the boards and crashing the net, not letting the goalie see the puck.”
“The atmosphere was amazing,” said Germany’s Luisa Welcke. “It was fun to play in front of so many fans.”
And Sweden’s Hanna Thuvik also enjoyed the noise. “During the power break, it was so loud!” she said.
From the first moments, this was a full-on contest. Germany’s Nicola Hadraschek landed a strong – but legal – challenge on Thuvik in the first minute, setting the tone for first period that was fast-paced and physical.
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SWEDEN V. GERMANY
GAME HIGHLIGHTS | CONDENSED GAME
Thuvik recovered from that early jolt to score the game’s opening goal midway through the first period. German goalie Sandra Abstreiter went behind the net but a breakdown in communication with Charlott Schafrath enabled Lisa Johansson to nip in and steal the puck. Abstreiter recovered to keep out an attempt on the wraparound, but Thuvik got in front of Celina Haider to stab home the rebound.
“Of course, it feels good [to score the first goal],” Thuvik said. “But my linemates did a really good job working it in front of the net, and I just shot it. So, I have a lot to thank them for.”
The Swedes were decent value for that first-period lead and continued to press after the intermission. Abstreiter made a smart save early in the middle frame to deny Lina Ljungblom before Mira Hallin doubled the lead after 28 minutes. She reacted fastest to beat the goalie as Hanna Olsson’s shot from the left-hand circle cannoned back off the boards.
Germany went undefeated through last year’s group stage and arrived in Ceske Budejovice hoping to challenge for a medal. In the face of early adversity, Jeff MacLeod’s team responded with a fine goal from Luisa Welcke. She got the puck at the top of the right-hand circle and unleashed a beautiful wrist shot through the narrowest of lanes to find the inside of Emma Soderberg’s far post. Welcke’s twin sister Lilli had an assist on that play as the Boston University pair continued their productive form from last year’s championship.
“I just saw an open spot under her blocker,” said the German scorer. “We wanted to get some shots through and keep things a little simpler. So, I tried taking the shot and it worked out.”
But this was destined to be Sweden’s day. At the start of the third period two quick goals put the game out of reach. Germany will feel that it could have done better on both: first, as play broke out from the boards, defender tracked Swedish captain Kjellbin as she moved down the channel. Linnea Johansson’s feed picked her out and she found the top shelf. Within a minute, a goal out of nothing made it 4-1. There seemed to be nothing for Thea Johansson as she fired the puck hopefully across the face of goal, but a deflection off Abstreiter’s skate took it into the net.
Depth in scoring also powered Sweden, and that didn’t go unnoticed either. “We had five different players scoring today,” Kjellbin added. “It’s really good depth in our team. I'm just super-happy that we came out there and played as we did today.”
The German bench responded by calling a time out but could not make inroads until a power play midway through the session. As Hallin sat for an illegal hit, a well-worked play saw Laura Kluge set up Nix for a sweet effort from the circle.
But that was as far as the fightback got. An empty net goal from Hanna Olsson with 67 seconds to play completed an impressive start to the tournament for the Swedes.
Germany, despite the defeat, is hopeful of better to come.
“We didn't have the start that we wanted to have,” Welcke concluded. “But I think we can just take the positive things, learn from our mistakes, and take that into our next game.”
For Sweden, meanwhile, the plan is more of the same against Hungary. Kjellbin summed it up: “The key was playing simple from the beginning, using the boards and crashing the net, not letting the goalie see the puck.”
Sweden vs Germany - 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship
OF