The girl lions bowed in the World Cup opener against Sweden. Each team in the initial group advances to the quarterfinals.
16:06•Updated 16:10
Finland’s under-18 girls World Cup home games in Vantaa started with a 1-2 overtime loss to Sweden.
Finished the winning goal for Sweden in overtime Ebba Westerlindwho sailed from the left side and spectacularly deflected the puck into the net.
Finland’s left side also opened up in the middle of the game, when Edit Danielsson sailed to score. Finland rose to fight for victory in the final set Senja Siivonen with a lucky overhand hit.
The puck seemed to bounce through Siivonen’s helmet and into the net, based on television images. The referees accepted the hit after video review.
Sweden was the more dominant side in the match and deserved their victory. Finnish goalkeeper Kerttu Kuja-Halkola made 32 saves in the match, when Maja Helge stretched into the path of the puck 16 times.
The preliminary group games determine the teams’ rankings when going to the quarterfinals. The winner of the group will face the bottom team of the second group and the runner-up of the group will face the penultimate team of the second group.
The semi-finals start on January 9. Finland will definitely play in the third quarter-final starting at 5 p.m.