2024 Worlds Recap: Team Denmark

Nordström, Jensen Stand Out in Denmark's Return to Top Division

The World Championships didn’t quite go Denmark’s way, as they finished in the bottom slot of Group B to end the tournament. They did, however, have some highlight moments, including a thrilling shootout win for one of their first ever at the top division. 

Let's take a look at all that went down in Utica. 

Final Record: 

0-1-0-3 (2 Points) 

Wednesday, April 3, vs. Sweden – 3-1 Loss 

Thursday, April 4, vs. Germany – 5-1 Loss 

Sunday, April 7, vs. China – 2-1 Shootout Win 

Tuesday, April 9, vs. Japan – 3-0 Loss 

Team MVP: The Backstop and the Captain

Emma-Sofie Nordström was outstanding in net, regardless of the final results. 

Over the four games, she gave up 10 goals. And while 10 may seem like a high number, after looking at the shot count against the netminder, it’s a different story. 

Nordström ended up facing 136 shots on goal and saved 126 of them, for a save percentage of 0.926. It was the fourth-best mark in the statistic across all netminders in the tournament, and her goals against average of 2.49 was fifth best to boot. 

It’s no surprise that Nordström performed as well as she did at Worlds — in our preview before the tournament started, we highlighted the goaltending depth that Denmark was bringing with them to Utica. Combined with how young the current goaltending trio is for the team, they’re expected to only develop and improve moving forward. Nordström is a prime example of that, which is reflected in her performances internationally and in the NCAA. With another two years of eligibility remaining collegiately, she has all the makings of being on a path to continue that development with St. Lawrence and help lead Denmark back to Group B in the next few years. 

A special shoutout is also in order for team captain Nicoline Jensen, who scored two of Denmark’s four goals of the tournament and added another in the shootout to keep the rounds going against China. Additionally, the captain assisted on the goal by Amanda Refsgaard to open the scoring in that April 7 thriller. By the end of the tournament she had three points in four games, a jump from 2022 — where she had none in the same amount of games played. 

Key Moment: Shootout Win Glory 

The Sunday, April 7, shootout win over China was Denmark’s only win of the tournament — and one of the only ones they’ve ever secured at the top level. 

It was the most complete game the Danes played throughout the tournament, as the 34 shots on goal the team fired off beat out the combined total in their other three games, of 25. 

There was also the redemption factor — in last year's World Championships at the DI level, China beat out Denmark for the top spot on the table, including a 4-2 win when the two teams faced each other in the tournament. Both Frederrike Foss and Jensen converted for Denmark in the shootout, and Norström made the final stop on Yingying Guan to secure the win.

What’s Next? 

Well, after finishing in the bottom two of Group B, Denmark will return to the Division I level next year for the World Championships. Alongside China, they’ll head back to DI and look to secure the title — and bump their way back up to Group B again — next year. 

Want More of the Stars? 

You can mainly find team Denmark on their respective club squads in Europe — many of them are currently playing in the Ice Hockey KvindeLigaen in Denmark, or in the SDHL in Sweden. Some of the younger players, including Nordström, will return to their NCAA teams once collegiate play starts back up in the fall. The European leagues have also wrapped up play for the spring but are expected to return to the ice in September as well. 

An interesting name to keep an eye on in the NCAA will be the 19-year-old Foss. The forward played 51 games for the Shattuck-Saint Mary’s 19U team this past year, and put up 48 points including 23 goals in that span. Foss is set to play in Hockey East in 2024-25 with the Maine Black Bears, the former home of Danish defender — and Foss' national teammate — Amalie Andersen. 

Denmark has a bright future ahead of them and, with one of the youngest rosters at the World Championships this year, the team is expected to only get better as time goes on. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform next year in Division I, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re in the top division of competition once again.