Sweden 3–1 Czechia: Slow Start, Same Old Scoring Questions

After a composed, grind-it-out win over Switzerland, the Lionesses stumbled out of the gate against Sweden and couldn’t quite recover, falling 3-1 in their second game of the Finnish WEHT stop. The script is painfully familiar: a sluggish first period, a strong-ish push later on, and a night where chances against them outnumbered goals by a wide margin.

The lone Czech tally came from defender Daniela Pejšová, who scored midway through the third to cut the deficit in half. By then, the damage from the opening 20 minutes was already done.

First Period

Czechia talked before Lahti about being ready “from the first faceoff.” That didn’t happen on Thursday. Sweden struck first in the 8th minute through Svensson, and just a few minutes later doubled their lead on a 5-on-3 power play. Two early breakdowns, one at even strength, one on special teams, left Czechia in a 2-0 hole before they had really established any rhythm. Pejšová didn’t sugarcoat it afterward:“We had a slow start. We said it after the first period and after the end of the game – we have to be ready the moment the first faceoff comes. We have to work on that.” For a team that has talked repeatedly about game tempo and mental readiness, the first period was a step back. Sweden were quicker to pucks, more decisive on entries, and sharper in their execution around the net.

Second Period

From the second period on, the game shifted. Czechia did settle in eventually, but it still seemed like something was missing. Neutral zone turnovers and zone entries plagued the team throughout, offensive set-ups and zone time was inconsistent. By late in the second and into the third, the Lionesses had created a few string of dangerous looks: shots through traffic, deflections, two pucks off the post, and several sequences where Swedish defenders were forced into desperation blocks.

However, what didn’t change was the finish. Pejšová summed it up simply:“Productivity should be greater. When we look at how many chances we created… we all have to work on it.” Czechia are still fighting the same disease they brought with them from Sweden in November: the inability to turn decent chance volume into actual goals.

Third Period

The one time the pattern broke came from a small tactical tweak between periods. Czechia’s defenders sat higher on the offensive blue line, closer to the play, more available as outlets, and ready to shoot through traffic if the forwards could establish a net-front screen. Stationed at the line, Pejšová took a feed, waited for the screen to develop, and sent a low, inconspicuous shot through traffic that finally beat the Swedish goalie in the 52nd minute. It looked simple, but it was exactly the kind of layered, detail-driven goal Czechia needed. That goal pulled the game back to 2-1 and flipped the momentum decisively. For several shifts after, Sweden were on their heels.

From there, Czechia did almost everything you’d want from a trailing team in the third: they pushed the pace, they activated the defense, they drew a late power play, and they pulled Klára Peslarová for the extra attacker in a last effort to tie the game. But the margins stayed thin. One untamed puck on the blue line turned into a break the other way, and Sweden found the empty net to seal the 3-1 result.

On paper, it’s another two-goal loss to Sweden following November’s 4-1 defeat. On the ice, it felt different: less about being outclassed, more about the cost of a slow start and the ongoing struggle to finish chances at the same rate they create them. If the Switzerland game reinforced the quality of Czechia’s goaltending and defensive structure, this one re-underlined two persistent issues:

1. Starts
   Being “ready from the first faceoff” isn’t just a cliché for this group. They’ve now had several games in this cycle where the first 10 minutes dug a hole the rest of the night was spent climbing out of. Against Sweden, that was the difference between chasing and controlling.

2. Finishing
   The team generated enough to make this a very different scoreboard, Pejšová’s goal, multiple net-front looks, and threatening sequences on the power play. But the conversion rate remains low. For a roster filled with players producing in their clubs or adding offensive value domestically, that gap between club form and national-team output is still the central tension.

Finland awaits

There isn’t time to dwell. Pejšová called the schedule “terrible” with a half-smile, but added she believes the group is physically ready for it. Mentally, the reset has to be quick. Because next is Finland. “We know what to expect,” Pejšová said. “They will definitely play hard hockey. And we have to prepare for that too.” Lahti was always going to be about more than just results, but more about how this team presents itself, mentally and physically, in the final weeks before Milan-Cortina.

Finland on Friday will test all of that at once.