2025 Worlds Quarterfinal Preview: Finland vs Sweden, US vs Germany

With group play at the 2025 Women's Worlds in the books, the top teams now prepare for quarterfinal action on Thursday.

Quarterfinal #1 will feature Finland vs. Sweden at 4:00 a.m. ET, while quarterfinal #2 will feature the United States vs. Germany at 7:30 a.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on NHL Network.

The later two quarterfinal matchups are Czechia vs. Switzerland (11:00 a.m. ET) and Canada vs. Japan (2:30 p.m. ET).

Finland vs. Sweden

Finland: 2-0-0-2, 3rd in Group A // Sweden: 4-0-0-0, 1st in Group B

After losing its first two preliminary round games via a 7-1 loss to the United States and a 5-0 loss to Canada, Finland scraped together a pair of wins over host Czechia and Switzerland to enter quarterfinals as the third-seeded team in Group A.

Finland's top scorer is defender Ronja Savolainen, the only player on the team to score multiple goals. Savolainen (2-1--3) is matched by Noora Tulus, whose three points thus far have all been assists.

Sanni Ahola has played the most time in net, going 1-1 with a 4.50 GAA and .830 save percentage, but the Finns have utilized all three netminders. Emilia Kyrkkö saw action in two games, while Anni Keisala played 39:42 against Canada. Finland allowed 12 goals against in its first two games, but the defense rebounded well.

Sweden, on the other hand, comes into the quarterfinals with a near-perfect tournament to date. After allowing two goals in its first game against Germany, Sweden pulled off three consecutive shutout wins over Hungary, Japan and Norway.

Emma Söderberg stopped 58 of 60 shots faced in three games, while Ida Boman had a perfect 16-for-16 record in her lone game of the tournament. Up front, Linnea Johansson leads Sweden with six points, including five assists., while Ebba Hedqvist (3-1--4) and Hilda Svensson (1-3--4) aren't far behind.

What to expect:

There's no doubt in my mind that we'll see Sanni Ahola vs. Emma Söderberg in net on Thursday morning. Ahola had a rough start to the tournament, but she bounced back against Czechia and she is Finland's best goalie, period. Söderberg's numbers are too good to ignore, and as much as Ahola is Finland's top goalie, Söderberg is Sweden's. They're the ones to rely on.

This one is going to come down to the offense, an area where Finland has struggled so far. The team scored just seven goals in four group play games and will need to find sly ways to get around a tough goaltender. Sweden has had no problem scoring and looks like an all-around strong team, and I'd pit them as the favorites in this one.

United States vs. Germany

United States: 4-0-0-0, 1st in Group A // Germany: 2-0-0-2, 3rd in Group B

The United States has been hard at work this tournament as they look to reclaim the gold medal after losing to Canada in the final last year. Through group play, they are the top team, having scored 18 goals and allowed just two. The team opened Worlds with a commanding 7-1 win over Finland, then beat Czechia on its home ice, 4-0. A narrow 2-1 win over Canada was followed by a decisive 5-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday to cap off the preliminary round.

Aerin Frankel has led the way for the Americans in goal, playing two of the four group play games and allowing just two goals on 39 shots faced. She'll undoubtedly get the start on Thursday, but Gwyneth Philips (13/13) has looked sharp in her limited time. Ava McNaughton also saw her first senior national team action on Tuesday and was perfect, but only faced three shots. If nothing else, it's a good chance for the US to see what its future in net may look like - and it looks promising, even if it's a small sample size in international play right now.

There are five American players in the top 10 in scoring in the tournament so far, which says a lot about Team USA's offense. Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter each have six points - and a combined nine assists - while Kelly Pannek has five points (2-3--5). Tessa Janecke (2-2--4) and Megan Keller (1-3--4) round out the top scorers on the team. Carpenter also leads all skaters in faceoffs, having won 72.22 percent of draws.

Elsewhere, it's been feast or famine for Germany, who started off the tournament with a 5-2 loss to Sweden but rallied back for a 5-2 win over Norway a few days later. They secured a 4-1 win over Hungary, but then fell to Japan 1-0 in their last game.

Sandra Abstreiter has played every minute of the tournament so far for Germany, allowing eight goals against on 92 shots faced for a 2.02 GAA and .913 save percentage. Up front, Laura Kluge and Lilli Welcke (1-3--4 each) lead the team, while a handful of players have registered three points. Katarina Jobst-Smith is another to watch, as she has three points (2-1--3) and leads the team in ice time (99:21).from the backend.

What to expect:

Special teams have been a highlight for Germany, as they lead all teams in power play (4-for-10) and penalty kill (9-for-9). But they're also one of the more-penalized teams, having taking 11 minor penalties. USA's power play has been 27% effective so far, but if the Americans can force Germany to make little mistakes that send them to the box, they have a decent chance of capitalizing, given the sheer amount of offensive power on the team.

Aerin Frankel vs. Sandra Abstreiter - who ya got?

Honestly, it'd be very difficult not to pick USA in this one. They were the highest-scoring team in group play, and let's face it: it's nearly inevitable. They've played in every gold medal game in Women's Worlds history, and that's not likely to change anytime soon.