Sandra Abstreiter made 30 saves in a near-perfect performance in Germany's 4-1 win over Japan on Saturday at the women's world hockey championship. Abstreiter (35) makes a save as USA forward Hannah Bilka (23) looks for the rebound during first period quarterfinal IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship hockey action in Brampton, Ont., Thursday, April 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
UTICA, N.Y. – Sandra Abstreiter made 30 saves in a near-perfect performance in Germany’s 4-1 win over Japan on Saturday at the women’s world hockey championship.
Jule Schiefer, Bernadette Karpf, Luisa Welcke and Nicola Eisenschmid scored for Germany, which improved to 2-0 at the tournament.
Akane Shiga had the lone goal for Japan, which fell to 1-1. Riko Kawaguchi stopped 25 shots.
After a scoreless opening frame, Schiefer picked up a loose puck in front and put Germany on the board first with a backhanded shot at 15:45 of the second period. Karpf doubled the lead at 18:23 when she tipped in a Carina Strobel point shot on the power play.
With 1:46 remaining in the third period, Welcke made it a 3-0 game. Shiga then trimmed the deficit, scoring off a rebound from a Ayaka Hitosato point shot 23 seconds later and Eisenschmid sealed it for the Germans 29 seconds after that.
The trio of goals that came in just 52 seconds served as a new record for the fastest three goals scored between two teams in a game.
The defending champion United States and Finland were set to play later Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2024.
