Poland 4-Korea 2

Poland, the 2023 silver medallists, scored twice in the final minute of the first period to take a 2-0 lead over Korea. Milena Piasecka scored from the blue line on the power play, followed by a wrist shot from the high slot by Matylda Stepien. Poland controlled much of the first period, outshooting Korea 14-2.

Captain Magdalena Lapies furthered Poland’s lead in the second period with another power play goal, a shot through traffic. Korea started to stage a comeback in the third period however, with Seohee Shim taking advantage of a Polish penalty and banging in a rebound to get her team’s first of the tournament. Yuan Han scored just under two minutes later to close the gap to 3-2, skating the full length of the ice and stick handling through two Polish players before putting the puck in the net.

Korea was unable to tie the score however, with Stepien scoring her second of the game with just over a minute remaining to give Poland the 4-2 win.

Norway 15-Australia 0

Playing in the Division 1 Group B tournament for the first time since 2019, having been relegated last season, Norway opened the tournament with a commanding win over Australia. For the Aussies, this marked their first game in Division 1 Group B since 2018, as the team earned promotion back up last year.

Eight different Norwegian players scored goals, with goaltenders Mia Lind and Madeleine Ostmolokken sharing the shutout. Norway held a 5-0 lead after the first period, adding three goals to their tally in the second. They continued to control the game in the third period, with seven more goals. All 15 Norwegian goals were scored at even strength, with Australia killing three penalties in the second period.

Tilde Simensen and Kajsa Braten both had five point games, with Simensen scoring four goals in her World Championship debut and Braten three. Thea Fernande Rustbakken and Miriam Toet-Uddveg scored two each, with Edle Rise Moe, Evie Haynes, Selma Matheson and Malene Tjomsland also contributing goals.

Spain 15-Chinese Taipei 0

Hosts Spain outshot Chinese Taipei 84-13 en route to a strong opening win, scoring more than double the number of goals they’d scored in the entire 2023 tournament in one game alone.

Nerea Gimenez opened scoring early, tipping in a slap shot from Indira Bosch. This was the first of two goals for Gimenez, who led her team with six points. Six other Spanish players had two-goal games as well, including Kiera O’Hare and Bosch, who also scored in the first period to give Spain a 3-0 lead at the first intermission.

Paula Gimenez scored two of Spain’s six second period goals, with Lidia Romero, as well as 14-year-old Carlota Castellanos and her older sister Claudia, also scoring two each in the final 40 minutes. Ana Goni contributed a single goal in the third period, skating to the front of the net for a rebound. Goalies Maria Sierra and Carlota Badorrey both saw playing time in what ended in a 15-0 shutout win for Spain.

Up Next

Play continues on Tuesday January 9 with Norway-Korea, Poland-Chinese Taipei and Spain-Australia.