Sweden had Damlejonen in the dock after two periods – but then Finland woke up and avoided a major miscalculation

It was tight, but it went the way of Damlejonen in the end. The team overturned a two-goal deficit in the final period and took their third straight victory in the WC.

Finland and Sweden have not met in a WC group game in 15 years, but after Damlejonen’s disastrous tournament last year, they are now in the same group.

After a pleasant start to the championship with victories over France and Germany, Sweden was the first real test for the Ladies Lions. A classic rivalry meeting and a special match for many blue and white players who stay in Swedish clubs.

And things were going wrong for Finland. Sweden made a better effort than in a very long time and pressured the Ladies’ Lions. Sweden was 2–0 after 40 minutes, but Finland scored three quick goals at the start of the final period and eventually won 4–2.

– A thorough job made it possible for us to come back. Ice hockey is simple when you do the work and we got a good result. The match meant a lot to us and in the last period we showed how we can play, says national team captain Juuso Toivola to Discovery.

The Finnish players could breathe a sigh of relief as they avoided a loss that could have had major consequences for the rest of the World Cup. The risk would then have existed that the team could not win the group and that would most likely have led to North American opposition already in the quarter-finals.

The victory meant that Finland secured a place in the quarter-finals and most things say that the team will win the group. Finland ends the group stage with a match against Hungary tomorrow.

– After that match, we can start looking ahead, says Toivola.

Two Swedish goals in the second period

As expected, Finland took command right from the start. The team could have scored both one and two goals early in the match, but Kiira Yrjänen and Noora Tulus each missed a goal.

Sweden worked their way into the match the longer the first period went on, and the team created some decent chances but it was 0-0 at the first break.

– Sweden is clearly the toughest opponent so far. We haven’t played at our level and we can improve, Rosa Lindstedt told Discovery after the first period.

But there was no level rise right away – instead, Damlejonen ended up at a disadvantage. Hanna Thuvik made it 1-0 for Sweden just over a minute into the second period. Shortly thereafter, Lisa Johansson was also close to lifting the Women’s Crowns into a two-goal lead.

Finland were really shaken at this stage, but had the opportunity to come back when Sweden picked up two consecutive expulsions in the middle of the period.

The women’s lions still bogged down their chances at the same time as Sweden played smart in defense and put pressure on the blue and white puck holders. The times that Sweden entered the offensive zone also felt a goal closer than when Finland established pressure in the Swedish zone.

And Sweden also scored a second goal at the end of the period. Mira Ljungåker got a lot of space in the power play and splashed the puck in behind Anni Keisala.

– We have improved after the match against Germany. We saw it last time against Hungary and we see it even more today, says Sweden’s first goalscorer Hanna Thuvik to SVT.

Strong turnaround by Finland

Finland was in the bridge after 40 minutes, but the team came into the third period with new energy and got a payoff. Barely four minutes into the period, Sanni Rantala shot from the blue line and Viivi Vainikka headed in the important reduction.

Sweden then got sent off and Finland didn’t have to play very long in the power play. Petra Nieminen found Ronja Savolainen who scored the equaliser.

The women’s crowns were paralyzed in action after the equalizer and eight minutes into the third period Finland had turned the corner. Petra Nieminen held the puck for a long time in the offensive zone and scored a spot-kick 3-2 behind the Swedish goalkeeper Sara Grahn.

Finland’s advantage in the game then slowed down a bit and Sweden had its moments in the attacking zone. But with just over five minutes left to play, the Swedish pursuit of an equalizer came to an end.

Annie Silén was sent off for five minutes for boarding and in the power play Ronja Savolainen made the final score 4–2 for Finland.

– We become passive and take half a step back. Finland gears up and goes for the win. We wanted to take it minute by minute, and game by game but we didn’t succeed. The expulsions also play a role and the fifth at the end is tough, says Sweden’s confederation captain Ulf Lundberg.