Sweden's Hanna Thuvik (#22) and Hungary's Madeline Leidt (#17) in action during the teams' Women's World Championship Group B game in Ceske Budejovice.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
Sweden maintained its winning start in Group B, making the breakthrough just before the second intermission to set up a 2-0 victory over Hungary.
But the newly promoted Hungarians emerged from their first game of the 2025 Women’s World Championship with great credit after a hard-working display that frustrated the Swedes for long spells. The Damkronorna, so swift and effective against Germany in yesterday’s opener, were held goalless until late in the second period. Linnea Johansson’s goal broke the deadlock just before the intermission, but only put the game beyond reach in the closing minutes.
Swedish forward Hilda Svensson admitted it was a tough afternoon. "I think maybe that wasn't our best game, but we found a way to win," she said. "Our goalie saved us lots of times today. It's important to have a really good goalie in games like that."
Such stiff Hungarian resistance was no surprise to anyone who saw the team in Division IA last season. In Klagenfurt, goalie Aniko Nemeth allowed just four regulation-time goals in five games, while her team-mates scored nine to secure promotion in second place. February’s Olympic qualification event in Germany was every bit as tight, with Hungary narrowly missing out after a 1-2 loss to the host nation.
Defender Fruzsina Mayer was at the heart of the Hungarian effort today. “We battled for 60 minutes and tried to compete on every shift,” she said. “We try to die for each other, if I can say that, and we showed our team chemistry. That's why this was a tight game.
“Aniko [Nemeth] was excellent. She’s the first goalie in our team and she did pretty well.”
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A Hungarian power play midway through the opening frame had the puck in the net, but it didn’t count. Lotti Odnoga’s shot deflected up and over the net, where Emma Kreisz deliberately propelled the puck forward with her head. It then bounced into the net off Swedish goalie Emma Soderberg, but the play was immediately ruled out by the on-ice officials.
Despite that frustration, the Hungarians had much to be happy with in their first period back in the top division. Up against a Swedish team eager to build on its bright start in yesterday’s game, Hungary acquitted itself well. Structured play in centre ice left the Swedish forwards isolated from one another, while a couple of early power plays saw Alexandra Huszak and Fanni Gasparics test Soderberg.
Sweden grew into the game as the period progressed, with Hilda Svensson looking the likeliest to beat Aniko Nemeth but the teams remained deadlocked at the intermission.
“We talked after the first period, Ulf [Lundberg, head coach] wasn’t happy with us and we weren’t happy either,” said Linnea Johansson. “We needed to change something in the team, and we made progress after that. We still weren’t very happy with the second, but we found a way to win in the end.”
Early in the second, Sweden got its second power play and looked to tighten the screws. But, despite relentless pressure, the Hungarians defended bravely. Repeated blocked shots had Fruzina Mayer playing through the pain barrier for a time. Even after Taylor Baker returned to the game, Sweden kept pressing and made it difficult for the exhausted opposition to make a much-needed line change. But the goal would not come, and after a break in play both defences reset and chances were once again hard to find.
Sweden finally broke the deadlock just before the second intermission. Linnea Johansson flashed a shot just past Nemeth’s post but the Swedes collected the rebound and kept the play alive. When the puck went back down low, Svensson executed a tight turn behind the net, wrongfooting the defence and setting up Johansson as she surged to the doorstep to open the scoring.
“It was a nice play, a nice goal,” said Johansson. “We started with a good dump into the zone then when Hilda got it in the corner I knew to go to the slot and she found me there.”
Even with a one-goal lead, Sweden could not put the game to rest. The third period saw Hungary look the more threatening. A power play starting in the 50th minute generated sustained pressure on Soderberg’s net: after blocking shots at the other end, Mayer faced a role reversal when her own effort was charged down by the Swedish defence. Then Soderberg produced a double save to deny Reka Dabasi then Mira Seregly. The latter already had her arms up in celebration as Soderberg got across her crease to rob her of a tying goal.
Insurance for Sweden came on 55:37 when Mira Jungaker drilled the puck in from the point and Lia Ljungblom redirected it home from close range. Jungaker, 19, is emerging as part of the future for Swedish women’s hockey: the Ohio State prospect clocked over 20 minutes in ice time, along with another teenage defender, Jenna Raunio and team captain Anna Kjellbin.
Hungary returns to action tomorrow morning in an 11am meeting with Japan. Sweden has a two-day rest before putting its unbeaten start to the test against the Japanese on Sunday afternoon.
But the newly promoted Hungarians emerged from their first game of the 2025 Women’s World Championship with great credit after a hard-working display that frustrated the Swedes for long spells. The Damkronorna, so swift and effective against Germany in yesterday’s opener, were held goalless until late in the second period. Linnea Johansson’s goal broke the deadlock just before the intermission, but only put the game beyond reach in the closing minutes.
Swedish forward Hilda Svensson admitted it was a tough afternoon. "I think maybe that wasn't our best game, but we found a way to win," she said. "Our goalie saved us lots of times today. It's important to have a really good goalie in games like that."
Such stiff Hungarian resistance was no surprise to anyone who saw the team in Division IA last season. In Klagenfurt, goalie Aniko Nemeth allowed just four regulation-time goals in five games, while her team-mates scored nine to secure promotion in second place. February’s Olympic qualification event in Germany was every bit as tight, with Hungary narrowly missing out after a 1-2 loss to the host nation.
Defender Fruzsina Mayer was at the heart of the Hungarian effort today. “We battled for 60 minutes and tried to compete on every shift,” she said. “We try to die for each other, if I can say that, and we showed our team chemistry. That's why this was a tight game.
“Aniko [Nemeth] was excellent. She’s the first goalie in our team and she did pretty well.”
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SWEDEN VS HUNGARY
CONDENSED GAME
A Hungarian power play midway through the opening frame had the puck in the net, but it didn’t count. Lotti Odnoga’s shot deflected up and over the net, where Emma Kreisz deliberately propelled the puck forward with her head. It then bounced into the net off Swedish goalie Emma Soderberg, but the play was immediately ruled out by the on-ice officials.
Despite that frustration, the Hungarians had much to be happy with in their first period back in the top division. Up against a Swedish team eager to build on its bright start in yesterday’s game, Hungary acquitted itself well. Structured play in centre ice left the Swedish forwards isolated from one another, while a couple of early power plays saw Alexandra Huszak and Fanni Gasparics test Soderberg.
Sweden grew into the game as the period progressed, with Hilda Svensson looking the likeliest to beat Aniko Nemeth but the teams remained deadlocked at the intermission.
“We talked after the first period, Ulf [Lundberg, head coach] wasn’t happy with us and we weren’t happy either,” said Linnea Johansson. “We needed to change something in the team, and we made progress after that. We still weren’t very happy with the second, but we found a way to win in the end.”
Early in the second, Sweden got its second power play and looked to tighten the screws. But, despite relentless pressure, the Hungarians defended bravely. Repeated blocked shots had Fruzina Mayer playing through the pain barrier for a time. Even after Taylor Baker returned to the game, Sweden kept pressing and made it difficult for the exhausted opposition to make a much-needed line change. But the goal would not come, and after a break in play both defences reset and chances were once again hard to find.
Sweden finally broke the deadlock just before the second intermission. Linnea Johansson flashed a shot just past Nemeth’s post but the Swedes collected the rebound and kept the play alive. When the puck went back down low, Svensson executed a tight turn behind the net, wrongfooting the defence and setting up Johansson as she surged to the doorstep to open the scoring.
“It was a nice play, a nice goal,” said Johansson. “We started with a good dump into the zone then when Hilda got it in the corner I knew to go to the slot and she found me there.”
Even with a one-goal lead, Sweden could not put the game to rest. The third period saw Hungary look the more threatening. A power play starting in the 50th minute generated sustained pressure on Soderberg’s net: after blocking shots at the other end, Mayer faced a role reversal when her own effort was charged down by the Swedish defence. Then Soderberg produced a double save to deny Reka Dabasi then Mira Seregly. The latter already had her arms up in celebration as Soderberg got across her crease to rob her of a tying goal.
Insurance for Sweden came on 55:37 when Mira Jungaker drilled the puck in from the point and Lia Ljungblom redirected it home from close range. Jungaker, 19, is emerging as part of the future for Swedish women’s hockey: the Ohio State prospect clocked over 20 minutes in ice time, along with another teenage defender, Jenna Raunio and team captain Anna Kjellbin.
Hungary returns to action tomorrow morning in an 11am meeting with Japan. Sweden has a two-day rest before putting its unbeaten start to the test against the Japanese on Sunday afternoon.
Sweden vs Hungary - 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship
OF