The game between Sweden and the US was also a battle between a strong Swedish defense and relentless American forwards, between a physical Sweden and an explosive Team USA, and between goaltenders Maja Helge and Morgan Stickney.
 
It was a close game, but in the end, Team USA came out on top with a 3-0 win. 
 
Christina Scalese, Evelyn Doyle and Kylie Amelkovich scored for Team USA; Stickney made 21 saves en route to a shutout, extending her shutout streak to 120 minutes. Helge made 29 saves for Sweden. 
“My team’s been playing super well in front of me, and it’s been a fun tournament so far,” Stickney said.
 
“Morgan Stickney is a winner. She gives you a chance in every game, we gave up some Grade A chances, but she had our back. People are very confident in her ability. She’s young but she’s a warrior and an athlete. [Two shutouts] must be fun for a goalie,” said Team USA coach Liz Keady Norton with a smile.  
 
What makes hockey such fun is that there’s no one right way to play it, no matter what the coaches like to think and say. It’s not a skating contest or a skills competition, it’s a game, and the team that best plays together and figures out a way to solve the opponent, wins. 
 
The average height of Team Sweden defense: 172cm. The average height of the Team USA offense: 166cm (including five players under 165cm). Whatever advantage that may have thought to give Sweden, the Americans took it away with their speed and relentless play in the corners.
“I’m really proud of the team, we put a good 60 minutes together,” Team USA coach Liz Norton said. “They have a great goalie, talented players up front, for us it was just a matter of doing our jobs, in every shift,” Keady Norton said. 
 
“We weren’t quite ready for the intensity of this game, but we’ll take this as a good lesson moving forward,” said Sweden coach Andreas Karlsson. 
 
Team USA outshot Sweden 14-6 in the first period, and that’s even with the two powerplay opportunities the Swedes got. 
 
The Swedes got their best scoring chances early in the second period when they got to play on a 5-on-3 powerplay, but Stickney in the US goal could make the key saves. 
 
With 8.15 remaining, a broken play in the Swedish zone left Christina Scalese all by herself in front of Helge, and she made a nifty move to beat the Swedish goalie to give the Americans a 1-0 lead in the game. Caroline Averill and Ella Johnson picked up assists. 
 
“It was all about my line mates. We had a great forecheck and then Caroline made a great pass, and I was all alone and blacked out,” Scalese said with a laugh. “I just went into autopilot.”
 
“We try to outwork all the other teams,” she added. 
 
Team USA got their powerplay opportunity early in the third period and at 2.21 into the third, Megan Healy fired a shot from the blueline, Bella Fanale’s deflection slipped through Helge’s five-hole and Evelyn Doyle smashed the puck in from the goal line to double the American lead. 
 
With two minutes remaining, the Swedes pulled Helge and looked for a goal with six skaters, but Stickney held her ground and Amelkovich could seal the deal in an empty net.