Women's Worlds Notebook: Germany and Hungary come up with big wins, Japan proves it can skate with anyone

BRAMPTON, Ontario — There was plenty of action in day two of the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championships on Thursday, April 6 in Brampton, Ontario. Find out more about which teams came up big and what players you should be keeping your eyes on.

THURSDAY SCORES

Germany 6, Sweden 2 (Group B)
(OT) Czechia 2, Japan 1 (Group A)
Hungary 4, France 2 (Group B)

NCAA SKATERS GIVE GERMANY AN UPSET WIN OVER SWEDEN

Even though Sweden scored first, the Germans found a way to give themselves a big win at the 2023 Women's Worlds. St. Cloud State alum Laura Kluge gave Germany its first lead of the game early in the second period. Later in the period, current St. Cloud freshman Svenja Voigt tallied a goal of her own.

"I think it was just our game plan to prove ourselves, that we belong here," said Kluge to the IIHF. "I think we proved that we can overcome those obstacles. At that point you don't really have anything to lose anymore ... You can only go uphill from there."

Minnesota Duluth's Nina Jobst-Smith posted an assist in the win for her home country. Providence College's Sandra Abstreiter made 31 saves on 33 shots in the match. Luisa Welcke, who skated for Maine this past season but is currently in the transfer portal , tacked on a primary assist in the second frame.

For Sweden, Minnesota Duluth's Emma Soderberg earned 22 saves on 27 shots in the loss.

HUNGARY AND CZECHIA COME OUT VICTORIOUS

Hungary had a great start to the international tournament, defeating France, 4-2. France has had a rough start to the Women's Worlds, but as a new team to the games in 2023 it wasn't necessarily a surprise that they lost to both Finland and Hungary.

"I think that everyone has developed and grown, we obviously all play on different teams but we're ready to come together as a team here," said Hungary's Taylor Baker on the IIHF Twitter page.

Czechia played a very close game with Japan but still earned a victory in overtime. The Czechs scored in the extra frame on a delayed penalty call to earn the win. Minnesota Duluth's Blanka Skodova started the match and stopped 16 of 17 shots on goal.

"We are just having fun, we are playing our game and sticking to our plan, you know? I think that's bringing us our success," said Czechia's Natalie Mlynkova (Vermont) in an interview on the IIHF's Twitter.

JAPAN PROVING THEY CAN PLAY IN GROUP A

Even though they don't have a win yet, Japan has been a feisty group to play against at the 2023 Women's Worlds.

Yes, just by looking at the score in its game against the USA, it seems like the 7-1 loss was a bad one — but Japan actually scored first in that game. Comparatively, Japan's 7-1 loss appears more competitive than France's 14-1 deficit to Finland earlier in the day.

Yesterday too, Japan showed that they belong in Group A as they pushed Czechia to overtime. The squad lost 2-1 in the extra frame when the Czechs scored with an extra attacked on a delayed penalty call, but it is right there in many of these games.

Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

STANDINGS AFTER DAY TWO

GROUP A:

GROUP B: