Hanna Olsson (#26) scored the winning goal on the power play as Sweden beat Czechia 2-0 to advance to the 2026 Olympic women's hockey semi-finals in Milan, Italy.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
Hanna Olsson scored the second-period power play winner and goalie Ebba Svensson Traff earned a 28-save shutout as Sweden beat Czechia 2-0 in Friday's first Olympic women's hockey quarter-final.
Hilda Svensson assisted on the winner and added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the deal.
"We knew the Czech game," said assistant captian Sara Hjalmarsson. "They're obviously a great team. But we were so mentally strong throughout the whole game. I think we handled it really well."
Coach Ulf Lundberg's Swedes dominated Group B with a perfect 4-0 record and kept it rolling. Making the semi-final is a huge step forward for the Damkronorna, whose long rebuilding process with young talent is finally paying off.
"It's an unbelievable feeling right now!" said 20-year-old Swedish blueliner Mira Jungaker, who plays for Ohio State. "We've been working so hard for this for a very long time as a group with camps during the summer. We've been practicing really hard. So I feel like that hard work finally paid off, and it's so nice to do it in a quarterfinal during the Olympics."
Sweden owns two Olympic medals from the distant days of 2002 (bronze) and 2006 (silver). The last two times Sweden finished in the top four were 2010 and 2014 (fourth place each time).
In their first Olympics, the Czech women lost 4-1 to the Americans in the 2022 quarter-final, riding goalie Klara Peslarova's heroic 55-save performance to keep the score tied until the third period. The two-time bronze medalists at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (2022, 2023) will go home empty-handed again.
In addition to superior special teams, the Swedes played with structure to keep the gifted Czech forwards outside prime scoring areas. They carried over confidence and belief from their Group B dominance.
"I think special teams hurt us," admitted Natalie Mlynkova, who led Czechia at these Games with three goals. "We got some great looks, great chances on the power play, but unfortunately didn't put the puck away. And on the other hand, we got scored on during a PK."
In a scoreless first period, Swedish forward Thea Johansson made herself visible early on, whether getting penalized for an illegal hit on Tereza Plosova or cutting around Tereza Pistekova to launch a backhander just past Peslarova’s right post.
The Czechs couldn’t convert the game’s first two 5-on-4 advantages. Coach Carla MacLeod’s Czech team also struggled on the power play in the preliminary round, going 1-for-8.
Early in the middle frame, ever-aggressive Czech forward Tereza Vanisova bulled her way to the net with the puck, but got a goalie interference minor for knocking over Svensson Traff.
Olsson broke the scoreless tie at 4:47 on the ensuing power play, firing the puck into a gaping cage from the left faceoff circle on a nice Svensson feed.
Hjalmarsson hailed Olsson's contributions: "She means so much. She's one of our captains. She's been through it all, the ups and the downs over the years, and come back from a couple injuries too. She's a fantastic player, super-skilled, and she sacrifices herself for this team a lot."
The Czech penalty woes continued, including minors to PWHL goals leader Kristyna Kaltounkova for tripping and a faceoff violation. MacLeod's troops strove to generate some heat on the forecheck but couldn't break through. Mid-game, Thea Johansson got loose at the Czech blue line for a partial breakaway, but was stopped by Peslarova and slid into the end boards.
Just past the midway point of the third period, Sweden momentarily thought it had doubled its lead, but instead Thea Johansson was sent off for knocking Peslarova over on the play. The Czechs still couldn't buy a power play goal. They pulled Peslarova in the dying seconds for the extra attacker to no avail.
Looking ahead to a likely semi-final meeting with one of the North American powerhouses, Jungaker said: "The feeling we have in our group is so special. It can take us so far in this tournament. I know it's going to be a really, really tough game and we might play a lot of D-zone in the semi-final. But if we just keep them to the outside, I feel like nothing's impossible for this semi-final."
Asked to contemplate heading back to the PWHL after this quarter-final defeat, Mlynkova said: "I think I'm going to be sitting on this for a few days at least. I still have a job back there [in Montreal] to finish. But this one is going to suck for a long time."
This was just the second Olympic women’s hockey meeting ever between the Czechs and Swedes. In 2022 in Beijing, Vanisova scored twice in a 3-1 Czech win.
The Swedes hold the all-time edge over Czechia at the Women’s Worlds with five wins and three losses dating back to 2013. However, the Czechs won the last two games, 5-3 in 2019 and 3-0 in 2022.
Hilda Svensson assisted on the winner and added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the deal.
"We knew the Czech game," said assistant captian Sara Hjalmarsson. "They're obviously a great team. But we were so mentally strong throughout the whole game. I think we handled it really well."
Coach Ulf Lundberg's Swedes dominated Group B with a perfect 4-0 record and kept it rolling. Making the semi-final is a huge step forward for the Damkronorna, whose long rebuilding process with young talent is finally paying off.
"It's an unbelievable feeling right now!" said 20-year-old Swedish blueliner Mira Jungaker, who plays for Ohio State. "We've been working so hard for this for a very long time as a group with camps during the summer. We've been practicing really hard. So I feel like that hard work finally paid off, and it's so nice to do it in a quarterfinal during the Olympics."
Sweden owns two Olympic medals from the distant days of 2002 (bronze) and 2006 (silver). The last two times Sweden finished in the top four were 2010 and 2014 (fourth place each time).
In their first Olympics, the Czech women lost 4-1 to the Americans in the 2022 quarter-final, riding goalie Klara Peslarova's heroic 55-save performance to keep the score tied until the third period. The two-time bronze medalists at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (2022, 2023) will go home empty-handed again.
In addition to superior special teams, the Swedes played with structure to keep the gifted Czech forwards outside prime scoring areas. They carried over confidence and belief from their Group B dominance.
"I think special teams hurt us," admitted Natalie Mlynkova, who led Czechia at these Games with three goals. "We got some great looks, great chances on the power play, but unfortunately didn't put the puck away. And on the other hand, we got scored on during a PK."
In a scoreless first period, Swedish forward Thea Johansson made herself visible early on, whether getting penalized for an illegal hit on Tereza Plosova or cutting around Tereza Pistekova to launch a backhander just past Peslarova’s right post.
The Czechs couldn’t convert the game’s first two 5-on-4 advantages. Coach Carla MacLeod’s Czech team also struggled on the power play in the preliminary round, going 1-for-8.
Early in the middle frame, ever-aggressive Czech forward Tereza Vanisova bulled her way to the net with the puck, but got a goalie interference minor for knocking over Svensson Traff.
Olsson broke the scoreless tie at 4:47 on the ensuing power play, firing the puck into a gaping cage from the left faceoff circle on a nice Svensson feed.
Hjalmarsson hailed Olsson's contributions: "She means so much. She's one of our captains. She's been through it all, the ups and the downs over the years, and come back from a couple injuries too. She's a fantastic player, super-skilled, and she sacrifices herself for this team a lot."
The Czech penalty woes continued, including minors to PWHL goals leader Kristyna Kaltounkova for tripping and a faceoff violation. MacLeod's troops strove to generate some heat on the forecheck but couldn't break through. Mid-game, Thea Johansson got loose at the Czech blue line for a partial breakaway, but was stopped by Peslarova and slid into the end boards.
Just past the midway point of the third period, Sweden momentarily thought it had doubled its lead, but instead Thea Johansson was sent off for knocking Peslarova over on the play. The Czechs still couldn't buy a power play goal. They pulled Peslarova in the dying seconds for the extra attacker to no avail.
Looking ahead to a likely semi-final meeting with one of the North American powerhouses, Jungaker said: "The feeling we have in our group is so special. It can take us so far in this tournament. I know it's going to be a really, really tough game and we might play a lot of D-zone in the semi-final. But if we just keep them to the outside, I feel like nothing's impossible for this semi-final."
Asked to contemplate heading back to the PWHL after this quarter-final defeat, Mlynkova said: "I think I'm going to be sitting on this for a few days at least. I still have a job back there [in Montreal] to finish. But this one is going to suck for a long time."
This was just the second Olympic women’s hockey meeting ever between the Czechs and Swedes. In 2022 in Beijing, Vanisova scored twice in a 3-1 Czech win.
The Swedes hold the all-time edge over Czechia at the Women’s Worlds with five wins and three losses dating back to 2013. However, the Czechs won the last two games, 5-3 in 2019 and 3-0 in 2022.
Quarter-finals #1: Czechia vs Sweden - 2026 Women's Olympic Games
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