Eldridge leads Canada past Sweden in women's hockey worlds opener
Jessie Eldridge scored two goals and added an assist as Canada eased to a 5-1 victory over Sweden in Herning.
HERNING · Canada defeated Sweden 5-1 on Friday to open the women's world hockey championship in Herning. Jessie Eldridge led the way with two goals and an assist for the youngest Canadian roster since 2013. Emily Clark, Rebecca Leslie and Kendall Cooper also scored for Canada, which built a 3-0 lead in the first period. Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 11 shots for the win in the Group B contest.
Eldridge opened the scoring less than seven minutes into the game, deflecting a point shot from Rosalie Tremblay past Swedish netminder Ebba Svensson Traff. Clark doubled the lead on a power play midway through the period, redirecting a Darryl Watts shot over Traff's shoulder. Leslie made it 3-0 late in the frame, collecting a loose puck in front of the net and scoring. Cooper added a power-play goal in the second period, converting a setup from Eldridge.
Sweden's Hanna Thuvik scored on a power play early in the third period to break the shutout. Eldridge restored Canada's four-goal lead later in the final frame, putting home a rebound for her second of the game. The 28-year-old from Barrie, Ont., who recently signed with the PWHL champion Montréal Victoire, was appearing in her second world championship. Traff finished with 33 saves for Sweden in the loss.
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The Canadian team is competing without its longtime captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, for the first time in an international tournament since 2009. Poulin is recovering from knee surgery and may miss the entire PWHL season. Defender Renata Fast and forward Laura Stacey are sharing the captaincy, with Fast wearing the 'C' for the opener. Star forward Sarah Fillier is on the roster and expected to play later in the tournament after being injured in a pre-tournament game.
The United States and Canada are considered the favourites to meet in the final, continuing their historic rivalry. Canada has won 13 world titles, while the Americans have 11, including the last championship in 2025. The U.S. also beat Canada in overtime to win the Olympic gold medal in Milan Cortina last February. Finland is the only other nation to have reached a world championship final, doing so in 2019.
This year's 10-team tournament in Esbjerg and Herning is the first to be held in November, a schedule change made by the International Ice Hockey Federation to precede the PWHL season. Teams are divided into two groups of five based on world rankings, with Canada leading Group B and the U.S. leading Group A. The top four teams from each group will advance to the playoff round, culminating in the gold medal game on Nov. 16. Canada and the United States are wearing generic jerseys without their traditional logos, as mandated by the IIHF. The jerseys, designed by IIHF supplier True Hockey, feature national colours but lack iconic symbols like Canada's Maple Leaf. Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have their own apparel deals with Bauer and CCM, respectively, and are suing the IIHF over the commercial rights dispute in a Swiss court.
With files from The Globe and Mail, Sportsnet and CBC News