Canada to face Sweden in quarterfinals action at Women’s Worlds
Published
Canada is set to take on Sweden and the United States will face Germany as the quarterfinals at the 2023 Women’s World Hockey Championships are set to get underway Thursday.
Finland, who ran away with the top spot in Group B, will take on reigning bronze medalists Czechia while Switzerland draws Japan.
Canada vs. Sweden
The Canadians earned top spot in Group A after a 4-3 shootout win over the Americans in their final round robin game on Monday and will take on Sweden, who finished third in Group B.
Watch Canada vs. Sweden LIVE on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT on TSN1 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The top three scorers in the tournament are all from Sweden with Hanna Olsson (10 points), Lina Ljungblom (nine) and Hilda Svensson (nine) leading the way as the Swedes also boast the best power play success rate at the Worlds (54 per cent).
Sarah Fillier led Canada in scoring during the preliminary round with four goals and seven points through four games. Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull all finished the round robin with five points.
On special teams, Canada’s power play is in the middle of the pack at 20 per cent but the penalty kill is second in the tournament at 93 per cent, allowing just one power-play goal against on 15 opportunities.
United States vs. Germany
For the Americans, forward Taylor Heise has continued to lead the way after winning tournament MVP last year with eight points through four games. Defender Caroline Harvey has also continued to impress with two goals and seven points in her third Worlds.
Watch United States vs. Germany LIVE on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT on TSN1 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
For the Germans, goaltender Sandra Abstreiter has the best save percentage in the tournament at .969 through three appearances with a 1.00 goals-against average. Up front, forward Celina Haider has been Germany’s top point-getter with three goals and five points through four games.
Goaltender Aerin Frankel has been the go-to starter for the Americans in 2023 with a .931 save percentage and 1.63 GAA in three appearance
The United States and Germany are third and fourth, respectively, in the tournament on the power play while Germany has the third-best penalty kill at 90 per cent.
Switzerland vs. Japan
In the final quarterfinal of the day, it’s Switzerland taking on Japan, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in Group A.
Watch Switzerland vs. Japan LIVE on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on TSN1 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The Swiss allowed 21 goals in the preliminary round, the highest in Group A, followed by Japan with 18.
On special teams, the Swiss have the fifth-best power play at 22 per cent with the Japanese in dead last at 10 per cent. Both are in the bottom half for penalty killing with Japan in seventh and the Swiss eighth.
Offensively, Alina Muller and Lara Stalder had five points each for Switzerland through the first four games while Toko Haruka led the way for Japan with three points.