Switzerland, which played with three chains, did not offer Naisleijon a very strange opposition in the final match of the group. Krista Parkkonen scored the opening goal of her A national team career.
The Finnish women’s national ice hockey team defeated Switzerland 4–0 in the final game of the first group.
As the winner of the match, Finland ranks third in its group and will face the Czech Republic, who won the B group, in the quarterfinals.
The match will probably be played on Thursday at 18:30 in Fredrikshavn. With a loss, Finland would have been fourth in its group and faced Japan.
Switzerland went to the match with a special lineup due to illnesses and injuries, and the team didn’t seem to be giving everything to win anyway.
Switzerland had only six shots on goal, while the Lionesses shot a total of 41 times.
Switzerland was missing a star player with a positive corona test result Lara Stalder and four other players. Top player Alina Müller and defenders Alessia Bachler and Nicole Vallario had received a negative test result but have mild symptoms. Stefanie Wetli suffers from an upper body injury.
Switzerland only played with three chains and put two attackers in their three defensive pairs.
Nieminen cheerfully
There was no doubt about the winner of the fight. Finland dominated the events on the field and already scored two goals in front of the goal in six and a half minutes in the opening set.
First Susanna Tapani rhymed Petra Nieminen to the puck net. After this Elisa Holopainen got up freely in front of the goal and lifted the puck to the top shelf.
In addition to this, Niemis, who performed cheerfully, was offered a few top places, for example two through runs, but he was left without any successes.
Parkkonen’s first in his career
In the second period, Finland also struck twice, when the defenders Krista Parkkonen and Ronja Savolainen succeeded. Parkkonen’s goal was the first in his A national team career. For Savolainen, the control goal with five against three was the 17th of his career.
The fourth goal was important for Finland in the sense that it was Naisleijon’s first of the tournament with superiority.
Silvonen rejected the final set
The final set already had the flavor of playing, and neither had a greater desire to expend energy before Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Finland, for example, changed its number one goalkeeper Anni Keisalan to the bench and took the three-guard position Jenna Silvonen in the final between the posts.
Silvonen was allowed to have his goal in peace, because he only recorded three saves.