Latest news with #SDHL
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SDHL's All-Time Scoring Leader Emma Nordin Calls It A Career
Emma Nordin announced her retirement this week stepping away from the game as the SDHL's all-time leading scorer. "There is only one Emma Nordin," her club Lulea wrote in a translated social media post. "You have inspired and paved the way for future generations of ice hockey players with your skill, your courage and above all your big heart. We will miss you on the ice. Thank you for everything." The 34-year-old spent the first half of her career with MoDo, but has played for Lulea since 2015-2016. In 475 career games in Sweden's top league, Nordin recorded 580 points. Her best season was her first with Lulea scoring 31 goals and 62 points in 31 games. Nordin won seven SDHL titles and was twice named the league's Best Forward, and was also named Swedish Player of the Year twice in her career. Internationally, Nordin represented Sweden at four Olympic Games and six World Championships, as well as two U-18 World Championships. At the 2019 World Championships, Nordin served as Sweden's captain. This season, her last, Nordin recorded 17 goals and 29 points in 34 games.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SDHL Offseason Update: Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens IF has had a busy offseason. Here's a look at what the SDHL club has been up to. Ida Boman - G - Boman's recent signing with Färjestad is a huge loss. Her 29 starts in 2024-25 were first in the league, while she boasted a sterling .936 save percentage, a 1.55 GAA and seven shutouts, all career best numbers. Tereza Plosová - F - Last season's top scorer (35 gp,17g, 9a, 26pts) begins at the University of Minnesota in August. Hana Haasová - F - Signed with Linköping where she hopes to bounce back after a dip in production this past season. Tereza Pistēková - F - Signed with SDE. Speedy forward oozes talent. Will she develop consistency under taskmaster head coach Peter Elander? Linnea Natt Och Dag - D - Burly defender will begin her freshman season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Fall. The team has announced few re-signings thus far, but the one that has been revealed is a good one: veteran captain Brette Pettet will return for the 2025-26 season. The Canadian embraced her leadership role last year, and was often seen barking orders before faceoffs, fist bumping, and egging on her young teammates. Her 14 goals were good for second place in team goal scoring behind only Plosová. Swedish national team defender Emma Forsgren, up-and-coming D Wilma Georgny and a slew of others remain without announced contract extensions. Meanwhile, emerging power forward Isabelle Leijonhielm has declared for the PWHL Draft. If she is selected and makes the jump overseas, DIF will have yet another big pair of skates to fill. The void left by star goalie Ida Boman has quickly been filled, as the team has announced the signing of 27-year-old Minnesotan Lauren Bench. Bench comes to Djurgården with oodles of top level hockey under her belt. She spent four seasons at the NCAA's Bemidji State University before transferring to The University of Minnesota for her final two years, where she put up sterling numbers in the always tough WCHA. In 2022-23, she played for the SDHL's MoDo before heading back to her home state the following season with PWHL Minnesota, where she served as a reserve player. While Bench is undoubtedly a top notch goalie, she might also prove to be a bit of a risk — she hasn't played a competitive game since 2023. DIF's other big off season signing so far is diminutive Canadian forward Tiffany Hill. The Nova Scotian played four seasons at Dartmouth before transferring to Penn State for her graduate year. Having put up only 16 goals and 36 points in 116 NCAA games, Hill could struggle to produce for DIF, a team that has lost four of its top five scorers since the end of the playoffs. Nearly three months into the off season, DIF looks like a completely different team. The departures of Plosová, Pistēková, Natt Och Dag and Haasová are just the beginning. Czech U-18 National Team captain Linda Vocetková has committed to Colgate University and will not return. Goaltender Boman was a hot commodity league wide, and has now signed with Färjestad. Defender Forsgren could be testing the market. So far, Djurgården's management is keeping their cards close to their chest. They may have other signings to announce in the near future, the calibre of which could depend on the club's men's team. The boys recently won promotion to the top Swedish league, the SHL, which could mean a new budget (whether bigger or smaller remains to be seen) for the women next season.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Norway's Defense Leads Nation To First Win, Nystrøm Records 46 Save Shutout
Three games in, and Hungary has yet to register a goal at the 2025 Women's World Championships. Their lack of scoring certainly isn't for a lack of trying; the team pumped 46 shots on net against Norway on Sunday morning, but were denied time and again by the heroics of goaltender Ena Nystrøm and, more than once, by their own ineptitude. They missed empty net opportunities, fanned on sure shots, and when they did get pucks on Nystrøm, she absorbed many of them into her belly. Her positioning was solid, and the Hungarians did not do enough to disrupt her view of the puck. Give the Norwegians credit: they did a much better job of gumming up the slot and clearing rebounds than they had in their first two games. Defenders Emma Bergesen and Andrine Furulund not only scored huge goals, they also played over 25 minutes each. Furulund's ability to make a strong first pass has become essential to a Norwegian team that has struggled to exit its own zone for much of the tournament. Bergesen, meanwhile, has been indefatigable. She plays in every situation, and has been relied upon to shut down every team's top line. She had 36 shifts in this game, scored a goal and registered a +2. The loss today guarantees that Hungary will be relegated to Division 1A for next year's World Championships. The team's inability to score goals or generate more scoring chances has been rather strange to see. The team has some talent, and certainly a reasonable amount of experience: Fanni Garát-Gasparics is Hungary's all time leading scorer, and has been their most threatening player in Czechia, but even she can't seem to get the monkey off Hungary's back. Defender Taylor Baker, Garát-Gasparics' teammate with the SDHL's Brynäs, put five shots on net against Norway, but few were generally threatening. Fellow SDHLer Lotti Odnoga was perhaps Hungary's most dynamic offensive zone player against Norway, but had a number of prime looks blocked by the tenacious Norwegian defense. Emma Kreisz, who registered a second-straight 20+ point season with the NCAA's University of Minnesota this season, looks disjointed, never seeming to find her rhythm, and registered a -2 against Norway. The Norwegians, for their part, have a chance, albeit slight, of staying in the top division. They will need a win against powerhouse Sweden, combined with a Hungarian win over Germany. The scenario is unlikely, but not impossible. Sometimes, all a team needs is a chance.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Norway Goalie Ena Nystrøm's Career Goals: 'Definitely The Olympics And The PWHL'
Before this year, Norway's last win in the top division of the IIHF Women's World Championship was in 1994, 7-4 over Switzerland in a consolation-round game in Lake Placid, N.Y. On Sunday, despite being outshot 45-21, Norway beat Hungary 3-0 thanks to the heroic netminding of Ena Nystrøm. 'I felt great,' Nystrøm said after the game. 'I was seeing the puck well today, and also, I think (my teammates) did a really good job in front of me, picking up sticks and allowing shots in the right lanes. I think we did a really good job as a team.' 'I think she's one of the better goalies in the tournament,' said Norwegian coach André Lysenstøen. 'She was a little bit unlucky yesterday (in a 5-2 loss to Germany) and we had a talk, and we really felt she'd bounce back today. She's our backbone and she gives us a chance to win every game.' With one win in three games and one game remaining against undefeated Sweden, Norway's chances of making the quarterfinals and avoiding relegation aren't great, but they do exist. With Nystrøm in net, however, the Norwegians feel that it's possible. Nystrøm plays in the SDHL, so she'll be facing a Swedish team that includes two of Brynäs teammates and most of the rest of the roster are opponents. When the two teams met in February in Olympic qualifying, the Swedes outshot Norway 54-11 but won only 3-0, thanks to Nystrøm. 'It'll be a fun game,' she said. 'It's a huge game for us – we're still in the race.' Norway's Defense Leads Nation To First Win, Nystrøm Records 46 Save Shutout Three games in, and Hungary has yet to register a goal at the 2025 Women's World Championships. Their lack of scoring certainly isn't for a lack of trying; the team pumped 46 shots on net against Norway on Sunday morning, but were denied time and again by the heroics of goaltender Ena Nystrøm and, more than once, by their own ineptitude. They missed empty net opportunities, fanned on sure shots, and when they did get pucks on Nystrøm, she absorbed many of them into her belly. Her positioning was solid, and the Hungarians did not do enough to disrupt her view of the puck. In her first season as a pro, Nystrøm was a starting goalie, playing in 29 of Brynäs' 35 regular-season games and all nine playoff games. Brynäs finished fourth in the 10-team league, reaching the semifinals and pushing eventual-champion Frölunda to the limit in that series. 'It was definitely a transition,' Nystrøm said about her rookie season. 'I think I got better as the season went on, and I think that's the nature of going from college hockey to pro hockey – it's a little different – so I'm happy with the way the season went.' As for career goals, Nystrøm, who turns 25 in late April, mentioned the Olympics and the PWHL. While she'll have to wait until at least 2030 for the Olympics as Norway did not qualify for next year, the PWHL could happen as early as 2026-27. As it stands now, she's signed for another season with Brynäs. 'I've talked to some of the scouts and staff members in the PWHL that she deserves a spot there,' said Lysenstøen. 'She had a good season in Sweden and I think after she gets some more seasoning there, she could be one of the top goaltenders in the world.' 'I want to develop as much as I can before I get there but I definitely want to get over there soon,' said Nystrøm. 'We'll see when that happens, but now, I'm very comfortable in Brynäs, I love being there and I want to bring a championship home to Gävle.' Kristýna Kaltounková: 'My Priority Was Getting Back With The Team Once I Was 100% Ready' Kristýna Kaltounková is playing in her first IIHF Women's World Championship and she's added a goal-scoring element that has sometimes been lacking on the Czech women's national team. Through three games, she has scored two of the team's five goals and her rocket from the point on the power play late in Saturday's game against Finland got everyone's attention.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sweden Overpowers Germany in Opening Game Of Worlds
That Sweden's Hanna Thuvik scored the first goal of the 2025 Women's World Championship should be a surprise to no one who has been paying attention to the youngster's development in recent years. Still only 22-years-old, Thuvik has scored at a point-per-game pace over the last three seasons for the SDHL's Brynäs, and this World Championship could prove to be her international coming out party. Thuvik played on the first line with sparkplug Lisa Johansson and towering Sara Hjalmarsson, and opened the scoring when she potted her own rebound in the first period. Germany played back on their heels for much of this game. Their inability to smother the dynamic Swedish offense resulted in long periods of desperate defending punctuated by futile attempts to break out. The Swedish attack was relentless, and especially ruthless in transition, as it targeted the low seam time and time again to drive the German net virtually unchallenged. Down 2-0 after another Swedish goal, this time from wunderkind Mira Hallin, Germany clawed one back halfway through the second period. Lilli Welcke won an offensive zone faceoff to Katarina Jobst-Smith on the right half boards. Jobst-Smith then slid the puck to Luisa Welcke who fired a shot past a high screen to beat Swedish netminder Emma Söderberg and reduced the Swedish lead to one. The goal seemed to briefly dent Sweden's confidence, allowing the Germans to create a pair of additional chances, but they could not find twine again and the score remained 2-1 Sweden heading into the second intermission. The Swedes exploded out of the blocks in the third, and scored twice in quick succession off a pair of German miscues. When Germany called a timeout, cameras panned to Swedish head coach Ulf Lundberg who scrawled a simple message on his board and, smiling, showed it to his charges: 'Nu över vi på 4-1' or 'Now we're leading 4-1'. His point seemed clear: the game can turn on a dime. Leads can be earned, lost, and restored in mere minutes. Keep playing. Do what you have been preparing to do, and remember to enjoy it. Lundberg's team is talented, hard working, and young. They will need to learn to manage their emotions and to stick to the game plan, even when momentum swings or they figuratively get punched in the teeth. In Game 1 at least, they accomplished that mission. Final score: Sweden 5 - Germany 2. Sweden faces Hungary tomorrow at 3pm local time, while Germany is off until Saturday when they face Norway.