Confident Canadians keeping it light ahead of knockout stage at women's hockey worlds
Two-time defending champions face Sweden in quarterfinals on Thursday
The women's hockey world championship is heating up.
On the ice, the quarterfinals at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont., begin Thursday. Canada takes on Sweden, while other matchups feature U.S.-Germany, Finland-Czech Republic and Switzerland-Japan.
Off the ice, the temperature reached 26 degrees on Wednesday and is supposed to remain warm through Sunday's medal games.
Canada, which went 4-0 in group play, enters the knockout stage with a sunny disposition.
In a full day off the ice on Tuesday, the team held a brunch for family and friends, breaking from the rhythms of a tournament that began over a week ago.
Back at practice on Wednesday, Ryan said it was less about teaching and more about tightening some things up. The group doesn't appear to be tense — at one point, Blayre Turnbull collided with a teammate who got up quickly, only to immediately trip back over Turnbull's stick.
Neither player was injured, but Turnbull spent a couple extra beats down, smacking the ice with her hand in laughter.
"A big part of our team is always staying loose and having fun and that's what we're trying to do moving forward," Turnbull told CBC Sports.
Canada 'in a good place'
Outside of a chaotic final minute in a 4-3 shootout win over the U.S., Canada was rock solid in sweeping through the preliminary stage.
"We've won championships when we've beat [the U.S.] and we've also won championships when we've lost to them," Ryan said after that game. "The one thing we do like is it's a home-ice advantage moving forward."
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Obviously, Canada was guaranteed home ice when the tournament was awarded to Brampton in January. And the crowds have certainly been raucous in support of their home team.
But as top seed now, Canada will get the last line change, allowing Ryan to control matchups. The win over the U.S. also keeps spirits high.
"In these events it's a lot easier to work on some things when you're in a good place," Ryan said.
There was, however, one potential downfall. If Canada beats Sweden, it'll face the lowest seed remaining in the semifinals — which could very well be an angry Finland.
In 2019, Finland shocked Canada in the semifinals at worlds before losing a heartbreaking gold-medal game to the U.S. In 2022, however, it was stunned by the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, then lost the fifth-place game 1-0 in a shootout to Japan.
The result relegated Finland to Group B, which it won handily, earning the fifth seed. If Finland beats the Czech Republic in its quarterfinal rematch, and if Canada and the U.S. take care of business, then Canada-Finland is locked in as a semifinal.
Familiar foe lies ahead
For now, Canada is focused on Sweden, whom it beat 11-0 at last year's Olympics and 3-0 at worlds in August.
Sweden boasts the tournament's three top scorers in Hanna Olsson (four goals, six assists), Lina Ljungblom (six goals, three assists) and Hilda Svensson (four goals, five assists).
Sweden coach Ulf Lundberg said the trio, which plays on the top line together, is successful due to their mixture of skill and hockey sense.
But Ryan said the team isn't going to dig too deep on studying Sweden beyond basics like neutral-zone forechecks and special teams.
"The thing is, is if we play the way we need to play and that we should play, lines like that shouldn't be successful against us anyway," he said.
To date, Canadian opponents such as the Czechs and the Swiss have turned games into more physical battles.
Sweden, which went 2-2 in the group stage, might hope to do the same. Many of its players come from the Swedish Women's Hockey League, which legalized bodychecking this past season. It remains illegal in international play.
A major boarding penalty late in the third period while down 3-2 against Finland in group play zapped any hopes Sweden had of a comeback.
Sweden captain Anna Kjellbin told CBC Sports she expects a fast, disciplined game.
"We know that they're very skilled, they play with a high tempo, they have really good hockey sense and hockey IQ so we better be ready from the beginning and be on our toes," she said.
Sarah Fillier, 22, leads Canada in scoring with four goals and three assists. Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse and Turnbull have five points apiece.
Kjellbin said it's going to take hard work to upend the two-time defending world champions and reigning Olympic gold medallists.
"I think it's just killer instinct that we need to find for the quarters," she said.
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