2022 Worlds: Canada beat Sweden to advance to semifinal
Canada shuts out Sweden to set a date with Switzerland
After a 3-0 victory over Sweden, Canada will advance to the semifinal.
Jocelyn Laroque got things started. At the end of the first period Despite being a mainstay of the national team, this was her first goal at Worlds in her entire career. This isn’t entirely surprising given that she’s really known for her defensive play. Renata Fast set Laroque up beautifully, dancing around the back of the net through the Swedish defense before passing the puck to Laroque who was completely open beside the hash marks.
🚨 Jocelyne Larocque snipes top left with a great feed by Renata Fast!
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) September 1, 2022
Canada 1-0 at the end of the first 🇨🇦@HockeyCanada #WomensWorlds #CANSWE pic.twitter.com/Jes6NyU9Bw
Sarah Potomak scored for Canada in the second, followed by Erin Ambrose in the third. Both goals were additional examples of Canada being able to break down the Swedish defense by applying pressure in just the right places.
🚨 Sarah Potomak dances through the defenders!! 👯
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) September 1, 2022
Canada 2-0 🇨🇦@sarahpotomak9 @HockeyCanada #womensworlds #canswe pic.twitter.com/DGF4FpxcX5
It was a scrappy and hard fought game, with multiple penalties being handed out for roughing and illegal hits on both sides
Despite being shutout 3-0, it was an impressive game for the Swedish team. Going in, this game had the potential to be a blowout in favour of the Canadians, but they were held to just four goals. Sweden’s penalty killing stood out; despite taking eight penalties in the full 60 minutes, they denied the Canadian power play every single time.
The shots were incredibly lopsided, with the majority of the game taking place on Sweden’s defensive side of the ice. The shots were 57:9 in favour of Canada. Soderberg faced 14 shots in the first, 19 in the second and a whopping 24 in the third. It’s a testament to her own skill as a goaltender that she only allowed three goals.
On the other end of the ice, Ann-Renee Desbiens got the nod between the pipes and stopped al nine shots for her first (and Canada’s second) shutout of the night.
Soderberg undoubtedly had the harder job of the two goaltenders, facing more high quality, dangerous shots in a period than Desbiens did in the entire game.
Canada now has an appointment with Switzerland to decide which of them will be moving on to the gold medal game while Sweden are officially out of medal contention. The winner of that game will then play the winner of the other semifinal matchup between Team USA and Czechia.
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