Fact: This is how the JVM is decided
Sweden’s remaining group stage matches, Monday: Canada, 11/1: Finland.
Sweden plays in group A where all four teams advance to the playoffs, the first two teams directly to the semifinals and the following two to the quarterfinals together with the two best teams from group B.
The quarter-finals will be decided on 12/1, the semi-finals on 14/1 and the medal matches on 15/1.
— Sad to lose, we have them when we catch up to 1–1 and 2–2, but we put ourselves in bad situations. We don’t get to the level I want, says union captain Andreas Karlsson to SVT.
After the men’s junior WC ended last week – where Sweden missed out on a medal and finished fourth – the women’s started at home in Östersund on Sunday.
Unlike the men’s JVM, where the players are under 20, the women’s JVM is for U18 players.
Sweden is chasing a medal and trying to challenge the big nations USA and reigning champion Canada, who have taken care of all the gold in the 14 WC tournaments played so far.
The Swedes surprisingly won over the USA with 1-0 in a training match a few days ago.
In the premiere, the Swedes ended up at a disadvantage, but equalized twice.
Emma Rehn, HV71, made it 1-1 in a numerical disadvantage in the first period and when the USA took the lead again after barely half the game, Mira Hallin, Modo, struck and equalized in a numerical advantage. She was played by HV defender Mira Jungåker, who was successful in the big WC in August.
But then the fun was over.
The USA scored three straight goals and Peyton Compton’s 3–2 came just 1.44 after the Swedish equalizer.
Three of the USA’s goals came on the power play.
The Swedes missed a golden opportunity at the beginning of the third period, in a 2-3 deficit, when the team had to play five against three for 45 seconds without receiving a reward.
Djurgården’s back Linnea Natt och Dag gave the Swedes new hope with a 3-5 reduction and was then only a rib hit away from another reduction.
But instead, Finley McCarthy was able to make it 6–3 in an empty Swedish goal with 56 seconds left.