The United States opened their defense of the women’s ice hockey world championship with a 7-0 victory over Switzerland on Friday in Esbjerg, Denmark.
asserted
States → open → Esbjerg
Hannah Bilka and Laila Edwards scored twice each, while Kirsten Simms, Hilary Knight and Casey O’Brien also found the net as the Americans pulled away after a competitive opening period.
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Americans → score → period
Caroline Harvey contributed three assists.
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Harvey → contribute → assists
Bilka broke the deadlock nine minutes into the game, but Switzerland goaltender Andrea Brändli kept the favorites at bay for the remainder of the first period.
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Brändli → break → period
The Americans took control in the second, with O’Brien doubling their lead before Edwards converted a power play just 15 seconds after a Swiss penalty.
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Edwards → take → penalty
The US outshot Switzerland 15-3 in the second period before adding four more goals in the third, including Bilka’s second and a solo effort from Simms.
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US → outshoot → Simms
Knight, the United States’ longest-tenured player making her 16th world championship appearance, scored midway through the final period to extend her tournament records to 68 goals and 121 points in 88 games.
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Knight → tenure → games
Aerin Frankel earned the shutout in goal, stopping all eight shots she faced as the Americans improved to 14-0 all-time against Switzerland, bronze medalists at February’s Olympics.
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Americans → earn → Olympics
All but one member of the American roster, forward Joy Dunne, plays in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
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member → play → League
Canada opened their tournament by easing past Sweden 5-1 on Friday in Herning.
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Canada → open → Herning
The youngest Canadian team since 2013, with an average age of 26, jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening period with goals from Eldridge, Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie.
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team → jump → Eldridge
Kendall Cooper added the fourth on a power play midway through the second period.
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Cooper → add → period
Hanna Thuvik pulled one back for Sweden on a power play in the final period before Eldridge completed the scoring with her second goal.
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Eldridge → pull → goal
Canada goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 13 shots in the Group B game.
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Desbiens → stop → game
In Group A, the Czech Republic rallied to beat Austria 4-1.
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Republic → rally → Austria
Austria are playing in the top division for the first time.
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Austria → play → time
Katerina Mrazova led the Czechs with two goals and an assist.
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Mrazova → lead → goals
Last year’s bronze medalists Finland faced hosts Denmark in Herning later Friday.
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Finland → face → Herning
The US and Canada are the tournament favorites, continuing a long-standing cross-border rivalry.
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US → continue → rivalry
Canada have won 13 world titles, followed by the US with 11 across the previous 24 championships.
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Canada → win → championships
The Americans have won 10 of the past 14 world championships and arrived in Denmark as reigning world and Olympic champions, having claimed the 2025 title in the Czech Republic and gold at the Milan-Cortina Games in February, beating Canada in overtime in both finals.
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Americans → win → finals
Finland are the only other team apart from Canada and the US to reach the final, doing so in 2019.
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Finland → reach → 2019
The 11-day, 10-nation tournament in the Danish cities of Esbjerg and Herning is the first to take place in November after the IIHF moved it to begin before the PWHL season.
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IIHF → take → season
Rather than having the top five teams grouped together as before, the field has been split into two groups of five based on rankings, with the US leading one group and Canada the other.
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US → have → group
The top four from each group qualify for the playoffs, with the final set for 16 November.
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final → qualify → November
The bottom two will play a relegation game.
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two → play → game
Canada and the US are wearing generic jerseys without their national logos, mandated by the International Ice Hockey Federation and designed by IIHF supplier True Hockey.
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Canada → wear → Hockey
Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have their own apparel and jersey contracts with Bauer and CCM, respectively.
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Canada → have → Bauer
The two federations are suing the IIHF over the dispute in a Swiss court.
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federations → sue → court
The Aporia
