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Women’s Worlds Day 4 Recap: Maschmeyer shuts out Japan, Ljungblom leads Sweden

photo Shanna Martin

Group A

Canada (3-0-0-0, 9 pts) 5, Japan (0-0-1-2, 1 pt) 0

Emerance Maschmeyer made 11 saves for the shutout as Canada beat Japan 5-0 on Saturday night.

Canada appeared to take the lead early when Blayre Turnbull scored, but the goal was disallowed because Laura Stacey was deemed to be in the crease.

It was Maschmeyer’s first start of the tournament after Ann-Renée Desbiens started Canada’s first two games.

“Any of these teams are very opportunistic and Japan is just that, so whenever they get their shot they are usually quality shots. I know that mentally I have to stay in it, so I do some visualization, move around a little bit and communicate with my defence. I also just try to play the puck and find ways to stay engaged because I know my next shot will probably be a tough one,” said Maschmeyer.

The Canadians opened the scoring just a few minutes later when Marie-Philip Poulin set up Brianne Jenner just 3:56 into the game.

“I think in the game today we had a bit of a mindset to get a better start than we have had and fall into the way we play instead of letting the game dictate the way we play,” said Canadian head coach Troy Ryan. “I think there were little spells where we got individualistic, but what stopped it was every time we got that way, we ended up turning the puck over and took a penalty as a result of it, and that was the thing we needed to snap us out of it.”

Sarah Fillier had two goals and an assist as all three players on her line scored with Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse also scoring. Erin Ambrose and Poulin also had two assists each.

“If you just know Nursey and Spoons as people, they’re incredibly humble and positive, so it’s easy to be their linemate,” said Fillier. “It’s really easy to play in that light and fun atmosphere. They’re incredibly skilled, and when they get me the puck I’m usually in a pretty good spot.”

Japan split goaltending duties between Riko Kawagushi and Miyuu Masuhara. Masuhara allowed three goals on 31 shots before switching midway through the game in a planned switch. Kawagushi made 24 saves on 26 shots.

Group B

Sweden (1-0-0-1, 3 pts) 6, Hungary (1-0-0-1, 3 pts) 2

Lina Ljungblom scored four goals including a first-period hat trick to lead Sweden to a huge 6-2 win over Hungary as teams battle for the three quarterfinal spots in Group B. The other two teams will be relegated to the lower division.

A wild first period saw six goals scored, including four in the first 8:57. Ljungblom scored her first two goals to give Sweden a 2-0 lead but Hungary fought back with two goals of their own, just 1:30 apart. Mira Seregely and Reka Dabasi scored the two Hungarian goals.

Sweden bounced back with two quick goals of their own to take a 4-2 lead before the end of the first period. Ljungblom completed the hat trick to make it 3-2, followed by a Linnea Andersson goal less than two minutes later.

The 21-year-old scored her fourth goal of the game in the second period to make it 5-2. Hilda Svensson rounded out the scoring for Sweden. With six points through two games, Svensson is the tournament’s leading scorer.

Sara Grahn made 27 saves in the win.

Looking ahead

After a light two-game schedule on Saturday, Sunday sees the full three game slate. It gets off at 11:00 a.m. Eastern when bitter rivals Sweden and Finland face off. Finland can clinch a quarterfinal spot with a win. There are three teams tied at three points in Group B, including Sweden, behind the Finns at six points.

At 3:00 p.m. Eastern, the United States look to match Canada at nine points as they take on Czechia. This is the final game for the US before they face off against Canada on Monday in the game that will decide Group A. Czechia is battling for positioning with Switzerland and Japan.

The final game of the day on Sunday is Germany taking on France. France, who was just promoted to the top division, needs to win to avoid relegation. A German win would go a long way towards securing them a quarterfinal appearance and avoiding relegation. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. Eastern

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