HERNING — Jessie Eldridge scored twice and added an assist as Canada defeated Sweden 5-1 Friday in its world women's hockey championship opener. Eldridge started on Canada's top line and ably filled the void left by injured captain Marie-Philip Poulin and star forward Sarah Fillier. The 28-year-old, from Barrie, Ont., who recently signed a two-year contract with the Professional Women's Hockey League champion Montréal Victoire, made her only other appearance at the women's world championship in 2022, where she had two points in seven games. Defender Kendall Cooper had a goal and an assist for Canada, while Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie also scored. "As a team, it was a great start to the tournament," Cooper said. "We have new players, and I'm one of them getting my feet wet. It was fun to be a part of it." Hanna Thuvik had Sweden's only goal. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 11 saves for Canada. Ebba Svensson Traff stopped 33 shots for Sweden. Canada next faces Japan on Sunday. Canada is playing in its first international tournament without Poulin on the roster since she made her national team debut in 2009. The 35-year-old, who also captains the Victoire, had knee surgery in July to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in her right knee and could miss the entire PWHL season. Defender Renata Fast and forward Laura Stacey are sharing Canada's captaincy in Denmark. Fast was the captain on Friday. Fillier is on the roster and is expected to play in the tournament at some point. She was injured in Canada’s 4-0 pre-tournament loss to the United States last week. Despite the altered leadership group and less international experience on a much younger roster than the one that took silver at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Canada showed early in this tournament that they will remain a favourite. "We wanted to come out hard. We’re excited to be here and represent Canada," Cooper said. "I think that was a reflection of it on the ice." Canada played its first game wearing jerseys mandated by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The jerseys feature Canada's red and white colours but lack the iconic Maple Leaf that has long been part of Canada's branding at international tournaments. Canada has 13 world championship gold medals, compared to 11 for the United States. But the Americans are the defending champions after defeating Canada 4-3 in the gold-medal game last year in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia. Eldridge opened the scoring just under seven minutes into Friday's game when she tipped a Rosalie Tremblay shot from the blue line past Traff. Clark made it 2-0 on a power play at 10:13 when she got her stick on a Darryl Watts shot and chipped the puck over Traff's shoulder. Leslie gave Canada a 3-0 first-period lead at 18:43 when she picked up a loose puck in front of Sweden's net and beat Traff with a nifty move. Cooper scored the only goal of the second period on a power play. She converted from close range on an assist from Eldridge midway through the frame. After Sweden got on the board early in the third period on a power play, Eldridge capped the scoring at 13:44 of the period when she tucked a rebound past Traff. In other opening-day action, Hilary Knight scored her record-extending 68th career goal at the women's worlds as the defending champion United States routed Switzerland 7-0. Hannah Bilka and Laila Edwards scored twice each, while Aerin Frankel made eight saves for the shutout. Finland defeated host Denmark 4-1 in Group B, while the Czech Republic rallied past Austria 4-1 in Group A. Katerina Mrazova, who plays for the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, had two goals and an assist for the Czechs. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026. The Canadian Press
