What could be a better way for the Finns than to kick off the under-18 Women’s World Championship on home ice than to take on their neighboring Sweden in a Nordic derby, in front of a sold-out crowd? A win, of course. They got close, but in the end, Sweden took two points with an overtime goal by Ebba Westerlind. 

Edit Danielsson scored for Sweden, Senja Siivonen for Finland. Kerttu Kuja-Halkola made 20 saves for Finland. Sweden outshot Finland 33-16 in the game. 

"We started strong and took charge. We knew Finland defends well, and even though we had a few chances, the puck just wouldn’t go in. And then Finland came back in the third."
 

"We have to be better prepared, and ready to play from the start," said Team Finland coach Mira Kuisma. "I am happy with the way we came back in the third, though."

Finland and Sweden had played twice against each other this season, with Finland coming out on top both times. In the mid-December game, just weeks before this tournament, Finland got solid performances for the team’s leaders with team captain Abigail Byskata scoring one, another returning under-18 Worlds player Eva Lamberg netting another and goaltender Kuja-Halkola turning away 25 shots, allowing just one goal in a 3-1 game. 

In today’s game, the Swedes grabbed the reins early on, spending a lot of time in the Finnish zone, pushing the Finns to their heels.  A power play opportunity halfway through the first period tipped the scales even more, but Kuja-Halkola in Finland’s goal stood tall.  

"We got better and better throughout the game," said Team Finland captain Abigail Byskata. "It’s not the perfect start for the tournament but it was okay, especially since our play improved from one period to the next."

Three power play opportunities at the end of the period gave Finland a chance to claw their way back into the game, but Maja Helge in the Swedish net, who made her first save with less than four minutes remaining, wasn’t really tested. 

"It was a fun game, and I think the whole team put in a great effort," Helge said. "And it was even more fun to get to play in front of a capacity crowd."

With 8.25 remaining in the second period, right after another killed penalty, Edit Danielsson got the puck off a broken play, flew down the left wing and fired a wrister that snuck through Kuja-Halkola’s five-hole to give the Swedes a well-deserved lead in the game. 

"I think we showed that we came to play," said Danielsson. 

Even if Sweden controlled the game, the Finnish defense managed to keep them away from the hottest scoring chances, and Kuja-Halkola took care of the rest. 

In the third period, Sweden got into penalty trouble again when Linn Mattsson was sent to the penalty box for an illegal hit. It was Finland’s fifth power play opportunity in the game. 

And this time, the powerplay worked. 

Elli Pohjanaho fired a wrister from the point and Senja Siivonen deflected it into the Swedish net to tie the game with 12.49 remaining in the third period. Tinja Tapani also picked up an assist.

"I was nervous before the game, but it was fantastic that the arena was sold out, the crowd gave us energy in the third," Siivonen said.

"We decided in the second intermission to just relax a little, we sang and danced and showed up more relaxed to the third period.”

However, it took an overtime to find the winner. Both teams had their chances, but it was Sweden’s Westerlind who became the hero when she deked Kuja-Halkola and slipped the puck through her five-hole. 

"I just realized that I had good speed and a step on the Finnish defender, so I decided to drive to the net," Westerlind said. "I’m very pleased with the way we played, but now we'll take it one game at a time and not get ahead of ourselves."