2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship: Top standouts from Day 5

Nov 10, 2026, 16:00 EST

It was a crucial day of action in Denmark on Tuesday.

While some teams looked to fine-tune themselves ahead of the quarterfinals, other teams were battling to move up into the top four of their respective groups and avoid relegation.

Let’s break down how each game played out, and who shone brightly for their team:

Czechia 1, Germany 2 (SO)

Remember how people were picking on the revamped tournament format? Well, in the olden days, this wouldn’t have happened.

Czechia entered the tournament as the presumed favorites to finish second in Group A, but that is being tested after a gutsy effort by a German team on the rise. The Germans really pushed the Czechs around for long stretches of the game, with Lilli Welcke breaking the ice just over a minute into the contest. Czechia kept on the attack, however, with Linda Vocetkova potting her second goal in as many games near the halfway mark of the frame.

We saw a goaltending duel from then on. Germany’s Sandra Abstreiter and Czechia’s Klara Peslarova both came up with big saves for the remainder of regulation, forcing overtime. Despite numerous chances in the extra frame, a shootout was required. In the skills competition, Abstreiter made four saves, with the Welcke twins, Lilli and Luisa, scoring for Trager der Adler, giving Germany the stunning win.

It was Germany’s first win over the Czechs at the Women’s Worlds since 2017. Czechia outshot Germany 30-24, going 0-for-3 on the power play. The Germans failed to score on their two chances on the PP.

There was a brief scare for the Czechs, as Kristyna Kaltounkova briefly left the game after taking a hard hit, but eventually returned.

Despite being a Group B team for several years, Germany has a chance to finish second in Group A.

Germany

#23 Lilli Welcke, F: We’ve been enamored with the Welcke twins for several years, but they have rarely been tasked with coming up clutch. Lilli Welcke did that on Tuesday. Her skill in tight led to her first goal of the tournament to put Germany out in front, with her creativity being on display in the shootout. Welcke ended the contest with four shots on goal, tied with Nina Jobst-Smith.

#35 Sandra Abstreiter, G: Some of us have been critical of Abstreiter’s play in recent international tournaments, especially since she hasn’t had to be spectauclar playing in the inferior group in recent world championships. Yet, against a stronger team like Czechia, the veteran showed many that she is one of the best netminders in the world (and deserves a greater role in the PWHL, if you ask me).

Czechia

#6 Linda Vocetkova, F: Lost in Czechia’s back-to-back losses has been the play of Vocetkova. Sure, there was a little controversy with her goal against the Germans, but she has proven how she can be one of the Lionesses key offensive weapons, especially with Kaltounkova and Tereza Vanisova being pretty quiet so far. She joins Katerina Mrazova as the only two players on the Czech roster with two goals so far.

Finland 8, Japan 2

Following a disappointing loss to Sweden, Finland made sure to leave no doubt against a beaten and battered Japanese team on Tuesday, despite a rather sluggish start. Japan got on the board first with Remi Koyama’s first of the tournament, but Finland quickly responded, scoring three goals in less than three minutes to take the lead.

Japan tried to claw their way back into the game, with Rio Noro making it a one-goal game in the opening minutes of period two, but Finland gathered themselves, and started dominating from there. Two more quick goals, including a gift from Japanese netminder Riko Kawaguchi to Julia Schalin, put Suomi up 5-2 heading into the third.

Finland ended the impressive performance with three more goals in the third, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals. The Finns won the shot battle, 40-17, with Emilia Kyrkko earning the win with a 15-save performance. Kawaguchi was pulled shortly after the Schalin goal, allowing five goals on 20 shots. Miyuu Masuhara gave up three goals on 20 shots in relief.

Finland

#24 Viivi Vainikka, F (Minnesota Frost): I was pleased the Vainikka had more dominant effort in the win on Tuesday. She has been playing well, don’t get me wrong, but she hasn’t really taken over games like we know she can until taking on Japan. The Frost draft pick registered a couple of assists in the game, and was very active in the offense throughout the contest, finishing tied with Scahlin with five shots on goal, the most for the Finns.

#12 Sanni Vanhanen, F: Vanhanen scored the last goal of Finland’s furious run in the first period, and ended up with three points after picking up a pair of assists as well. She could’ve had a couple of more goals with the looks she was getting in the game, but the Ohio State star was very active in the convincing win.

Japan

#40 Rio Noro, F: It’s always hard to stand out in games like this, but the simple fact that Rio Noro go on the board is worth something. The Daishin scorer potted her first goal at the Women’s Worlds. It was also her first point at a major international tournament. She’s quietly been a solid secondary scorer for Japan at other international tournaments, and can grow into a more prominent role in the future.

Switzerland 4, Austria 2

Another game that went very different from what we were expecting.

Austria, facing relegation from their first trip to the top division, pulled out all the stops against an unsuspecting Swiss team. While Switzerland controlled the play for most of the game, the Austrians battled hard. Even after Sinja Leemann gave Switzerland the lead in the first period, Austria bounced back with goals from Theresa Schafzahl and Lena Daubock to take their first lead in the tournament.

However, Austrian supporters hadn’t stopped celebrating by the time Alina Muller scored to tie the game just 19 seconds later. Switzerland thought they quickly regained the lead with a goal a few minutes later, but it was called back due to goalie interference.

Austria’s heart were broken in the third, as Ivana Wey scored the go-head goal early in the frame before Muller capped things off with an empty-netter.

Switzerland outshot Austria 40-23 in the win, going 1-for-5 on the power play. Andrea Brandli got a little shaky in the second period, but settled to score the victory with a 21-save outing.

Switzerland

#22 Sinja Leeman, F: Sometimes, in tight games like these, you need other players other than your stars to step up. The Swiss had become synonymous with needing Muller to be the hero, but it was promising to see Leemann have an impact in the game. She ended up being credited with an assist on Wey’s game-winning goal on the power play, finishing second the team with four shots on goal.

#25 Alina Muller, F (Hamilton Havoc): Now, that didn’t mean Muller didn’t have another great game. Had it not been for the play of Selma Luggin, the Havoc center could’ve had at least a hat trick in this game. She led the Swiss with six shots on goal, and was once again the offensive catalyst her team required.

Austria

#25 Selma Luggin, G: Credit where credit is due, Luggin played sensationally, giving her team an honest chance of pulling off an upset. However, the puck just didn’t bounce her way. It’s incredible how Selma was able to step up, even though her team was outmatched in each game in the group stage.

#7 Theresa Schafzahl, F (Seattle Torrent): Schafzahl was one of Austria’s key players heading into the tournament, but due to the fact that she was going up against the opposition’s best defense, it was tough for her to generate a whole lot of offense. Yet, she was able to break through on Tuesday, giving her at least one goal in the top division.

Sweden 10, Denmark 0

This game went as many of us expected, though Denmark almost made history (for the wrong reasons).

Heading into the waning minutes of the third period, the host nation had zero shots on goal, a stat no team ever finished a game with in the top division. Thankfully, the Danes put a few shots on goal on Emma Soderberg, avoiding being shut out on two accounts.

It did little to turn the tide. Sweden scored twice in the first period before putting up a five spot in the second. Goals from Tilde Grillford, Thea Johansson and Nicole Hall in the third was the icing on the cake for Damkronoma, as they stay in the hunt for second place in Group B.

Sweden outshot Denmark 63-4, going 1-for-3 on the power play, with nine players registering multiple points. The Danes had one power play in the contest.

Even with the loss, Denmark still has a chance to advance to the knockout stage.

Sweden

#67 Michelle Lowenhielm, F: Let’s give some love to players who typically aren’t in the spotlight, but received some substantial playing time on Tuesday. Lowenhielm has been a solid scorer in the SDHL, but has rarely been a go-to scoring threat at the WWC. Yet, she came up with a pretty solid effort against the Danes, scoring Damkronoma’s first goal of the contest, and ending up with four points on the night.

#89 Nicole Hall, F: Hall is in a similar boat. A player who player her first major international tournament in Milan. After scoring her first WWC goal earlier in the tournament, the Penn State star posted two goals against Denmark, logging just over 12 minutes of ice time. Hall has the makings of being an important play-driver for the Swedes in the near future.

Denmark

#33 Emma-Sofie Nordstrom, G (Hamilton Havoc): This was a really tough game to play for Nordstrom. Yet, the St. Lawrence product stuck with it. It’s not everyday you make 53 saves.

Standings

Group A

1. USA (3-0-0-0), 9 points
2. Germany (1-1-0-1), 5 points
3. Switzerland (1-1-0-1), 5 points
4. Czechia (1-0-2-0), 5 points
5. Austria (0-0-0-3), 0 points

Group B

1. Canada (3-0-0-0), 9 points
2. Sweden (2-0-0-1), 6 points
3. Finland (2-0-0-1), 6 points
4. Denmark (0-1-0-2), 2 points
5. Japan (0-0-1-2), 1 point

Coming up…

The final day of the group stage will be a dandy. Kicking things off on Wednesday will be Germany and Switzerland (9 a.m. ET), as well as Canada and Finland (9 a.m. ET), with first place on the line in Group B. The United States will face Czechia (1 p.m. ET), while Japan takes on Sweden (1 p.m. ET).

Germany can secure second place as long as they at least equal Switzerland and Czechia’s results. The Czechs need to beat to have more points than both the Swiss and Germans if they want to finish second. Finland has to have a better result on Tuesday than Sweden if they want to jump into second place. If Japan wants to move on to the quarterfinals, they have to rally and upset Sweden in any fashion.

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