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That Sweden’s Hanna Thuvik scored the first goal of the 2025 Women’s World Championship should be a surprise to no one who has been paying attention to the youngster’s development in recent years. Still only 22-years-old, Thuvik has scored at a point-per-game pace over the last three seasons for the SDHL’s Brynäs, and this World Championship could prove to be her international coming out party. Thuvik played on the first line with sparkplug Lisa Johansson and towering Sara Hjalmarsson, and opened the scoring when she potted her own rebound in the first period.
Germany played back on their heels for much of this game. Their inability to smother the dynamic Swedish offense resulted in long periods of desperate defending punctuated by futile attempts to break out. The Swedish attack was relentless, and especially ruthless in transition, as it targeted the low seam time and time again to drive the German net virtually unchallenged. Down 2-0 after another Swedish goal, this time from wunderkind Mira Hallin, Germany clawed one back halfway through the second period. Lilli Welcke won an offensive zone faceoff to Katarina Jobst-Smith on the right half boards. Jobst-Smith then slid the puck to Luisa Welcke who fired a shot past a high screen to beat Swedish netminder Emma Söderberg and reduced the Swedish lead to one. The goal seemed to briefly dent Sweden’s confidence, allowing the Germans to create a pair of additional chances, but they could not find twine again and the score remained 2-1 Sweden heading into the second intermission.
The Swedes exploded out of the blocks in the third, and scored twice in quick succession off a pair of German miscues. When Germany called a timeout, cameras panned to Swedish head coach Ulf Lundberg who scrawled a simple message on his board and, smiling, showed it to his charges: “Nu över vi på 4-1” or “Now we’re leading 4-1”. His point seemed clear: the game can turn on a dime. Leads can be earned, lost, and restored in mere minutes. Keep playing. Do what you have been preparing to do, and remember to enjoy it. Lundberg’s team is talented, hard working, and young. They will need to learn to manage their emotions and to stick to the game plan, even when momentum swings or they figuratively get punched in the teeth. In Game 1 at least, they accomplished that mission.
Final score: Sweden 5 - Germany 2. Sweden faces Hungary tomorrow at 3pm local time, while Germany is off until Saturday when they face Norway.
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