Photo: Johanna Oikarinen
Friday marked the fifth day of competition at the Women’s Bandy World Championship, as group standings and semifinal pairings were decided following two key matches.
The third day of the women’s tournament began at 9:00 AM with a match between Finland and the USA in front of a home crowd of more than 600 spectators. The USA controlled much of the play, but Finland’s defense held firm for long stretches and successfully denied the American attacks. The opening goal came at 20:14, when Katherine Noonan gave the USA a 1–0 lead. It proved to be the only goal of the first half.
Just over 20 minutes into the second half, the USA extended their lead. Makaila Anderson scored at 66:26 while Finland’s Tytti Lempinen was serving a penalty for tripping. The goal was Anderson’s first at international level and only her second appearance in the national team. The final score of 0–3 was set at 82:11 by Allison Thunstrom.
The result confirmed the group standings, with Finland finishing fourth and the USA securing third place.
The evening featured another top-of-the-table clash, as unbeaten Sweden and Norway met in a 9:00 PM showdown to decide first and second place in the group. Norway managed to keep tournament favorites Sweden at bay for the opening ten minutes, but Sweden then struck three times in under five minutes.
Norway called a timeout and succeeded in slowing Sweden’s momentum for another ten minutes. However, Sweden found the net again at 26:16 through Edit Ljung. Tilda Ström made it 5–0 at 37:10, and Sweden carried that lead into halftime.
Sweden continued to dominate in the second half, extending their lead further. Norway’s Charlotte Selbekk scored at 67:52 to reduce the deficit slightly, but Sweden remained firmly in control and sealed a comprehensive 10–1 victory. Sweden topped the group convincingly with an unbeaten record.
As a result, the women’s semifinal matchups for Saturday are now set. Group winners Sweden will face Finland in the first semifinal at 10:30 AM, while Norway and the USA will meet in the second semifinal at 4:30 PM.
