Women’s Worlds Day 2 Recap: Team Finland loses Nieminen, Müller seals Swiss victory

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
Women’s Worlds Day 2 Recap: Team Finland loses Nieminen, Müller seals Swiss victory

After a jam-packed four-game slate on Day 1, the action settled down a little bit on Friday at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Still … Day 2 absolutely had its fair share of drama, and what was arguably the biggest story had nothing to do with either game on the docket.

Team Finland fell by a 4–1 score against Team Canada on opening day, and their next game — against Team USA on Saturday — won’t be any easier.

Unfortunately for the Finns, they’ll be without forward Petra Nieminen against the Americans after the IIHF elected to suspend the 23-year-old forward for checking Team Canada forward Kristin O’Neill from behind.

The on-ice officiating crew assessed Nieminen a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct on the play, but the IIHF ultimately decided to enact further discipline.

Nieminen scored six goals in seven games at the 2021 Worlds and tied for the team lead in points at the Beijing Olympics. She’s a huge piece on a Finnish team with legitimate medal aspirations.

The Finns still have plenty of quality scorers — Susanna Tapani and Michelle Karvinen say hello — but they’ll be in tough against an American side that squashed Team Japan 10–0 on Day 1.

Snap shots

  • Hey, speaking of Team Japan … they had a chance to avenge their lopsided defeat on Day 2, playing against the untested Team Switzerland. Friday’s game was Swiss forward Alina Müller’s first chance to shine after missing most of the 2021 Worlds, and the 24-year-old forward didn’t disappoint. She set up Lara Stalder’s icebreaker during the second period before scoring the eventual game-winning goal later in the very frame. Müller’s tally made it a 2–0 game; Team Switzerland ultimately prevailed by a 3–1 score.
  • Team Hungary had a rougher outing on Day 2 after defeating the Danes on Thursday. Facing Team Czechia, the Hungarians mustered as many shots (seven) as their opponents did goals over 60 minutes and ultimately fell by a 7–1 score. Six different players found the back of the net for the Czechs, but it was 16-year-old Adela Sapovalivova — the youngest player in the entire tournament — who led the way with a pair of goals and an assist. How about that?

Day 2 Results

Team Switzerland 3, Team Japan 1

Team Hungary 1, Team Czechia 7

Day 3 Schedule

Team USA vs. Team Finland — 9:00 a.m. ET

Team Sweden vs. Team Germany — 9:30 a.m. ET

Team Canada vs. Team Switzerland — 1:00 p.m. ET

Team Czechia vs. Team Dernmark — 1:30 p.m. ET

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