photo: Matt Zambonin - IIHF
A strong team effort advanced Sweden to the top of Group A play to start Day 3 of the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship at the Sport and Wellness Centre in Membertou, Nova Scotia.
Inez Nygren and Ebba Westerlind each scored their first goals of the tournament and Ebba Hesselvall tallied her second for Sweden, who are now 2-0.
"We came out really strong," Hesselvall said. "We thought it was important to start well, so we’re happy with how we played, especially the first period when we scored two goals."
In her first start for the Swedes, Thea Holmberg looked sharp with her rebound control while stopping all 16 shots she faced. At the other end, a busy Norina Schrupkowski kept her team close, facing 48 shots as Switzerland fell to 0-2. She got the start after coming in to face 38 shots over 47:52 in Switzerland’s opening 9-0 loss to Canada.
"It was a really difficult game for us because we know how strong Sweden is," Schrupkowski said. "We wanted to win and we prepared really well, so to lose is really hard to accept. It’s upsetting, but I know we will get better."
The Swiss have now gone two games without a goal, and are the only team in the tournament that has yet to score.
"We have trouble creating enough chances to score," said Swiss assistant coach Patrick Gerber. "We’re doing well in the defensive zone, I think, but we need to get more shots, more rebounds. We’re working on it, though."
Sweden opened tournament action with a 4-1 win over Hungary, and got off to a strong start against the Swiss.
Just 3:34 into the game, Nygren took a centering pass in the slot from Hesselvall, then found space between Schrupkowski’s pads to give her team the early lead. Then, with 2:37 left to play in a period that Sweden dominated territorially, Westerlind forced a turnover at the offensive blue line and darted down right wing before cutting to the slot and flipping the puck over Schrupkowski.
The shot margin was 22-4 for Sweden at the first intermission, and finished at 48-16.
The final goal came in the second period, on Sweden's fifth power-play of the game. Schrupkowski got a piece of Hesselvall’s hard shot from the top of the left face-off circle, but couldn't stop the puck from entering the net.
Switzerland's best chance of the third came on a power-play opportunity with 45 seconds remaining. But they weren't able to get the goalie out to create a 6-on-4 advantage.
"They had a strong start, and we weren’t ready right from the start," said Schrupkowski. "We also took too many penalties, which helped Sweden and didn’t allow us to get any momentum. Next game we have to be ready right from the start."
With the win, Sweden improves to 8-0 all time against Switzerland at the WW18 level. Most recently, these two teams met at the 2025 quarterfinal in Vantaa, where Sweden advanced with a 4-1 win.
In other Group A action on Monday, Canada will put its 1-0 record on the line against Hungary.
Round-robin play concludes on Tuesday, when Sweden will face Canada before Switzerland meets Hungary.
Inez Nygren and Ebba Westerlind each scored their first goals of the tournament and Ebba Hesselvall tallied her second for Sweden, who are now 2-0.
"We came out really strong," Hesselvall said. "We thought it was important to start well, so we’re happy with how we played, especially the first period when we scored two goals."
In her first start for the Swedes, Thea Holmberg looked sharp with her rebound control while stopping all 16 shots she faced. At the other end, a busy Norina Schrupkowski kept her team close, facing 48 shots as Switzerland fell to 0-2. She got the start after coming in to face 38 shots over 47:52 in Switzerland’s opening 9-0 loss to Canada.
"It was a really difficult game for us because we know how strong Sweden is," Schrupkowski said. "We wanted to win and we prepared really well, so to lose is really hard to accept. It’s upsetting, but I know we will get better."
The Swiss have now gone two games without a goal, and are the only team in the tournament that has yet to score.
"We have trouble creating enough chances to score," said Swiss assistant coach Patrick Gerber. "We’re doing well in the defensive zone, I think, but we need to get more shots, more rebounds. We’re working on it, though."
Sweden opened tournament action with a 4-1 win over Hungary, and got off to a strong start against the Swiss.
Just 3:34 into the game, Nygren took a centering pass in the slot from Hesselvall, then found space between Schrupkowski’s pads to give her team the early lead. Then, with 2:37 left to play in a period that Sweden dominated territorially, Westerlind forced a turnover at the offensive blue line and darted down right wing before cutting to the slot and flipping the puck over Schrupkowski.
The shot margin was 22-4 for Sweden at the first intermission, and finished at 48-16.
The final goal came in the second period, on Sweden's fifth power-play of the game. Schrupkowski got a piece of Hesselvall’s hard shot from the top of the left face-off circle, but couldn't stop the puck from entering the net.
Switzerland's best chance of the third came on a power-play opportunity with 45 seconds remaining. But they weren't able to get the goalie out to create a 6-on-4 advantage.
"They had a strong start, and we weren’t ready right from the start," said Schrupkowski. "We also took too many penalties, which helped Sweden and didn’t allow us to get any momentum. Next game we have to be ready right from the start."
With the win, Sweden improves to 8-0 all time against Switzerland at the WW18 level. Most recently, these two teams met at the 2025 quarterfinal in Vantaa, where Sweden advanced with a 4-1 win.
In other Group A action on Monday, Canada will put its 1-0 record on the line against Hungary.
Round-robin play concludes on Tuesday, when Sweden will face Canada before Switzerland meets Hungary.
Sweden vs Switzerland - 2026 IIHF U18 Women's Worlds Championship
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