Sweden's Mira Hallin (#34) steers home the opening goal in her team's victory over Norway at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Sweden warmed up for a quarter-final meeting with Finland by comfortably seeing off Norway in its final Group B game.
An 8-0 victory on Tuesday morning ensured a perfect preliminary round for the Swedes, who saved their best performance until last against a Norwegian team destined for a swift return to Division IA.
And forward Lina Ljungblom is excited about what is brewing for her team in Ceske Budejovice. “It feels amazing,” she said. “We’ve been wanting this for a lot of years now. It feels so good to finish like this.
“We’ve had some problems scoring goals, so it’s a good thing for us and our confidence in the team that we can score, and it’s good to take that into the quarter-finals.”
With Sweden assured of top spot in Group B and a quarter-final showdown against Finland, head coach Ulf Lundberg gave some game time to understudy goalie Ida Boman and previously unused forward Wilma Sundin. Hanna Thuvik (two goals from three games) and Lisa Johansson (two assists) sat this one out.
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Boman responded with a shut-out, while Ebba Hedqvist led the scoring with a hat-trick. Jenna Raunio scored her first in a World Championship, while Mira Hallin, Ljungblom, Josefin Bouveng and Hilda Svensson were also on target.
Raunio felt that Sweden got stronger as the game went along: “We started the game not on the 100 percent level, but then I think we came to the locker room after the period, and then we talked about how we [should play] together. And I think we came out stronger in the second and then in the third period.
“This game was pretty good for us because it shows that we have the mentality for scoring goals.”
Sweden's goalie faced an early test when Maltea Fischer saw open ice in the centre of the Swedish zone and fired in a shot around Annie Silen. However, it didn’t take long for the Damkronorna to assert themselves. Ljungblom chopped a redirect right across the face of Ena Nystrom’s net before Hallin opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
That play started down the left channel with Ida Karlsson. Linnea Johansson picked up her drop pass, skated round Norway’s Kajsa Braaten and set up Hallin on the doorstep.
Ljungblom added a second after 14 minutes with a goal on the wraparound. Her shot crept under Nystrom and trickled over the line despite desperate attempts to hack it clear.
Just 18 seconds into the middle frame, Sweden scored its third. The Norwegian defence got tied up as it tried to clear the puck from behind its net. Hedqvist jumped on a loose puck and unleashed a devastating snipe from the left-hand circle that gave Nystrom no chance.
And there was more impressive shooting on the fourth Swedish goal as Raunio scored her first in World Championship play. The 18-year-old defender, who is heading to Ohio State next season, has been among the leaders in Swedish ice time here. She highlighted her two-way credentials with a blast from the top of the circle to pad the lead as this Scandinavian derby became one-sided. “I got a good pass from Hilda [Svensson], so that then I was just hoping that my shot wouldn’t get blocked!” Raunio said of her first World Championship marker. “It was fun to score.”
Bouveng made it 5-0 with her first goal of this year’s tournament midway through the game, ending any hope of a Norwegian revival.
Although destined for demotion, Norway had been competitive in its earlier games. But this was a test too far for the youngest roster in Ceske Budejovice. Sweden was quicker in thought and deed, dominating play on both sides of the puck to roll to a convincing win.
Despite a tough test, defender Emma Bergesen believes the overall campaign gives much for Norway to build on. “I think we gained a lot,” she said of her country’s first top level championship in 28 years. “This was a new experience for us and I think we battled every game and showed that we’re able to play at this level.
“Today’s game was hard, but I still think we showed a lot of character, diving for pucks in the last minutes when the score’s not what we wanted.”
Norway switched goalies for the third period, giving 20-year-old Marthe Kongstrop her first taste of World Championship action. She was called into action after 90 seconds, halting Sofie Lundin’s breakaway before combining with some defensive back-up to stop Hanna Olsson’s follow-up. But Sweden solved her six minutes into the session when Hedqvist got her second of the game.
Svensson added a seventh, tidying up on the slot after Mira Jungaker’s feed caused confusion in front of Kongstrop. Norway came close to grabbing a consolation goal late on, but Millie Rose Sirum could not get the puck through Boman's pads after battling to the doorstep.
But the final word went to Hedqvist, who completed her hat-trick with two minutes to play to make the final score 8-0. Sweden advances to a quarter-final against Finland, while Norway looks to use this year as a springboard for a quick return to the top.
“We can get back quickly,” Bergesen insisted. “Our group is young and this experience lifts everyone to a bit higher level. It’s not easy coming up here, we will have to really battle hard and have a good season next year.”
An 8-0 victory on Tuesday morning ensured a perfect preliminary round for the Swedes, who saved their best performance until last against a Norwegian team destined for a swift return to Division IA.
And forward Lina Ljungblom is excited about what is brewing for her team in Ceske Budejovice. “It feels amazing,” she said. “We’ve been wanting this for a lot of years now. It feels so good to finish like this.
“We’ve had some problems scoring goals, so it’s a good thing for us and our confidence in the team that we can score, and it’s good to take that into the quarter-finals.”
With Sweden assured of top spot in Group B and a quarter-final showdown against Finland, head coach Ulf Lundberg gave some game time to understudy goalie Ida Boman and previously unused forward Wilma Sundin. Hanna Thuvik (two goals from three games) and Lisa Johansson (two assists) sat this one out.
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NORWAY V. SWEDEN
GAME HIGHLIGHTS | CONDENSED GAME
Boman responded with a shut-out, while Ebba Hedqvist led the scoring with a hat-trick. Jenna Raunio scored her first in a World Championship, while Mira Hallin, Ljungblom, Josefin Bouveng and Hilda Svensson were also on target.
Raunio felt that Sweden got stronger as the game went along: “We started the game not on the 100 percent level, but then I think we came to the locker room after the period, and then we talked about how we [should play] together. And I think we came out stronger in the second and then in the third period.
“This game was pretty good for us because it shows that we have the mentality for scoring goals.”
Sweden's goalie faced an early test when Maltea Fischer saw open ice in the centre of the Swedish zone and fired in a shot around Annie Silen. However, it didn’t take long for the Damkronorna to assert themselves. Ljungblom chopped a redirect right across the face of Ena Nystrom’s net before Hallin opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
That play started down the left channel with Ida Karlsson. Linnea Johansson picked up her drop pass, skated round Norway’s Kajsa Braaten and set up Hallin on the doorstep.
Ljungblom added a second after 14 minutes with a goal on the wraparound. Her shot crept under Nystrom and trickled over the line despite desperate attempts to hack it clear.
Just 18 seconds into the middle frame, Sweden scored its third. The Norwegian defence got tied up as it tried to clear the puck from behind its net. Hedqvist jumped on a loose puck and unleashed a devastating snipe from the left-hand circle that gave Nystrom no chance.
And there was more impressive shooting on the fourth Swedish goal as Raunio scored her first in World Championship play. The 18-year-old defender, who is heading to Ohio State next season, has been among the leaders in Swedish ice time here. She highlighted her two-way credentials with a blast from the top of the circle to pad the lead as this Scandinavian derby became one-sided. “I got a good pass from Hilda [Svensson], so that then I was just hoping that my shot wouldn’t get blocked!” Raunio said of her first World Championship marker. “It was fun to score.”
Bouveng made it 5-0 with her first goal of this year’s tournament midway through the game, ending any hope of a Norwegian revival.
Although destined for demotion, Norway had been competitive in its earlier games. But this was a test too far for the youngest roster in Ceske Budejovice. Sweden was quicker in thought and deed, dominating play on both sides of the puck to roll to a convincing win.
Despite a tough test, defender Emma Bergesen believes the overall campaign gives much for Norway to build on. “I think we gained a lot,” she said of her country’s first top level championship in 28 years. “This was a new experience for us and I think we battled every game and showed that we’re able to play at this level.
“Today’s game was hard, but I still think we showed a lot of character, diving for pucks in the last minutes when the score’s not what we wanted.”
Norway switched goalies for the third period, giving 20-year-old Marthe Kongstrop her first taste of World Championship action. She was called into action after 90 seconds, halting Sofie Lundin’s breakaway before combining with some defensive back-up to stop Hanna Olsson’s follow-up. But Sweden solved her six minutes into the session when Hedqvist got her second of the game.
Svensson added a seventh, tidying up on the slot after Mira Jungaker’s feed caused confusion in front of Kongstrop. Norway came close to grabbing a consolation goal late on, but Millie Rose Sirum could not get the puck through Boman's pads after battling to the doorstep.
But the final word went to Hedqvist, who completed her hat-trick with two minutes to play to make the final score 8-0. Sweden advances to a quarter-final against Finland, while Norway looks to use this year as a springboard for a quick return to the top.
“We can get back quickly,” Bergesen insisted. “Our group is young and this experience lifts everyone to a bit higher level. It’s not easy coming up here, we will have to really battle hard and have a good season next year.”