Sarah Potomak’s game-high second-period goal and her assist on Erin Ambrose’s third-period goal helped seal Thursday’s 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Sweden. Veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque scored her first world championship goal in her 10th tournament appearance, while goalkeeper Ann-Renee Desbiens posted a nine-save shutout. University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs netminder Emma Soderberg was a workhorse in the Sweden net with 54 saves. “It was a test of our patience, but also a test of our discipline,” said Canadian Assistant Captain Blair Turnbull. “It’s very easy in games like this to become too individual and try to solve the problem yourself and get away from our team systems. “I’m really proud of our team for sticking to our game plan even though we didn’t have the offensive success we wanted.” WATCHES | Potomak scores a beauty:

Sarah Potomak scores a beauty as Canada advances to the world championship semifinals

Sarah Potomak’s individual effort highlighted Canada’s 3-0 win over Sweden as it advanced to the semifinals of the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark. Canada meets beleaguered Switzerland in a semifinal Saturday with the winner advancing to Sunday’s gold medal game in Herning, Denmark. Minus captain Lara Stalder and top scorer Alina Mueller due to COVID-19, as well as two other injured players, the Swiss prevailed 2-1 over Japan in their quarter-final. The Czech Republic, coached by former Canadian defender Carla MacLeod, scored the upset of the tournament so far and reached the semifinals for the first time with a 2-1 overtime win over Finland. The USA had an easier time of it in their 12-1 quarterfinal win over Hungary to face the Czechs on Saturday.

Soderbergh stars in defeat

Canada and Sweden met in a world championship match for the first time since 2009, although the Canadians beat the Swedes 11-0 in an Olympic quarterfinal in February. Soderberg gave up nine goals in two periods in Beijing before being pulled, but she was gutted Thursday. “I think we came out a lot stronger. I feel like I came out better than I did in Beijing,” Soderberg said. “We didn’t let them do what they wanted. “I could have stayed a lot calmer. I think I wanted to do a little more against Canada in Beijing. That punished me and us.” Sweden, the 2006 Olympic silver medalists, were relegated to the 2019 world championships. The national team then boycotted international matches in protest over compensation and other sporting issues. The dispute with the Swedish confederation was resolved later that year.

Replacement for Russia

The COVID-19 pandemic ruled out second-tier world championships for Sweden to gain promotion, but the world No.8 replaced Russia at this year’s 10-nation tournament. The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned Russia from tournaments because of that country’s invasion of Ukraine. “We got here under bad conditions of course, but we still didn’t have a chance to qualify for the top world,” Soderberg said. “This is where we want to be. This is where our schedule should be. How we’re playing in this tournament is a big step forward.” Canada put steady pressure on Sweden’s end for large stretches of the first and second periods, but Soderbergh helped limit the Canadians to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. “He’s an amazing goalkeeper. He moves very well,” Larocque said. “He made some huge saves. It was a test for us to stick to the game plan and do the little things right. I think that’s good. We had to play really good hockey and put pressure on them. “We’ll be able to take a lot from, I would say, the second half of this game going into the semifinals.”

Canada’s juggling act continues

Canadian coach Troy Ryan continued his line of juggling from the previous day’s practice, most notably moving Victoria Bach to a trio alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Brianne Jenner, and Sarah Nurse getting ice time with Sarah Fillier and Emily Clark. “I don’t think there are natural compositions,” Ryan observed. “We didn’t like any of the changes. We told them when we made those changes that we’re going to keep changing and trying to find something that fits, until there’s no more games to be honest.” Ambrose slipped a shot from the point over Soderberg’s shoulder at 13:10 of the third period. 🚨 🚨 🚨 3-0 for pic.twitter.com/3jlO94fhBM —@IIHFHockey Three power-play chances in the first 10 minutes of the second resulted in no goals for Canada, which went 0-8 overall, but Potomak scored on an even-strength effort. He scraped the puck off the neutral zone boards and then got cut by Swedish defenseman Maja Persson Nylen going behind-the-hand to free Soderberg at 13:56 of the second period. “It was a beautiful goal and it’s something we’ve all seen from her before,” Turnbull said. “It was great for her to come on board in that way and it was very timely.” Down 14-1 in the first period, the Swedes held Canada scoreless until 17:11 when Renata Fast, down the goal line, fed Larocque in front for a successful wrist shot layup. 🚨 Jocelyne Larocque snipe top left with a great feed from Renata Fast!
Canada 1-0 at the end of the first 🇨🇦 pic .twitter.com/Jes6NyU9Bw —@IIHFHockey

Knight enters the record books

American forward Hilary Knight set the all-time career points record at the women’s hockey world championship on Thursday, and she wasn’t done adding to it. Knight’s goal and assist in a 12-1 quarterfinal win over Hungary gave her 87 points to surpass the previous mark by Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser (86). 🚨 BREAK THE RECORD! 🚨HILARY KNIGHT sets new record FOR MOST CAREER pic.twitter.com com/JLwYHtgHIN —@IIHFHockey “I understand what a great accolade it is, so all I can say is it’s really an honor,” Knight said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I play with the best players in the world night in and night out when we suit up for Team USA. To be able to play with other people and the creativity and competitiveness, it keeps you going.” The 33-year-old from Sun Valley, Idaho, added to her all-time tournament scoring record with her 51st career goal. Knight broke that record previously held by former US captain Cammi Granato (44) during last year’s world championships in Calgary. After a record-setting second assist in the second period, Knight was mobbed by teammates near the USA bench in celebration. HILARY KNIGHT WINS HER 87 POINT!!! pic.twitter.com/LQJC6wWDtQ —@IIHFHockey The scorers eventually assigned one of her assists to a teammate later in the game, but Knight’s goal early in the third period ensured the record was hers. Another point about 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mCTqaoqiXw —@IIHFHockey Knight was honored with a plaque and commemorative jersey after the match. A video tribute was also shown on the arena’s video screen at center ice. Good, pic.twitter.com/rkTtlMfJFQ —@usahockey “What Hilary Knight means on and off the ice to the game of hockey is indescribable. This milestone is just another part of that,” said USA captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “You want to talk about the number. The only thing you don’t see is the consistency of work that Hilary Knight puts in day in and day out of this tournament on her own, just the grind. “There’s a reason she can do what she’s doing at this age and at this level in her 12th tournament. I know she’s got a lot of hockey left in No. 21.”

Knight’s family on hand to testify for the record

Knight’s parents and brother in Herning, Denmark, to witness her history-making game meant a lot to Knight because the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented them from attending the little competition that existed for the past two years. “We haven’t had family in a tournament for a long time,” Knight said. “You take it for granted that your family…