Denmark rally from 0-2 to beat Japan 3-2 in the shootout at the Women’s World Championship
News — 10 November 2026
Denmark delivered one of the great nights of its women’s hockey in Herning: the host of the IIHF Women’s World Championship came back from 0-2 down against Japan and won 3-2 in the shootout on 7 November 2026, in front of its own fans at Hockey Arena Herning.
From a painful 0-2 to pure euphoria
17-year-old Umeka Odaira scored twice in the first period to put Japan 2-0 ahead in an opening frame the visitors dominated (12 shots to 4). In the second period, 18-year-old Nikita Bergmann, who plays for Skellefteå AIK in Sweden, pulled one back. With 2:45 left in regulation, 17-year-old Teresa Christensen tied the game and forced overtime. After a scoreless overtime, Nicoline Jensen and Frederikke Foss — who scored the decisive shot — converted in the shootout for Denmark, while Odaira replied for Japan. Danish goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordström delivered a standout performance: 30 saves and the decisive shootout stops.
A historic night for the hosts
It was Denmark’s first win of the tournament, in Group B. “It’s unreal, it’s a historic moment, just unbelievable,” Nordström said after the game, and captain Jensen dedicated the win to the crowd: “They really lifted us today, and I want to thank the fans from the bottom of my heart.” The tournament runs from 6 to 16 November in Herning and Esbjerg, and this year is played in November for the first time to fit the PWHL professional season. The United States arrive as reigning world and Olympic champions.
The ice behind the event
Keeping two competition-grade real-ice rinks at international standard for eleven days takes refrigeration plants engineered to the last detail and day-by-day maintenance. It is the same standard Napapiri has applied since 1993 to every real-ice rink it designs, manufactures, rents and sells — mobile and permanent — for event organizers, municipalities and sports and recreational facilities worldwide. Quotation within 24 hours.
Sources
- The Ice Garden / The IX Hockey: Denmark earns first 2026 Women’s World Championship win on home ice (8 November 2026).
- Daily Faceoff: 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship — Top standouts from Day 2 (November 2026).
- IIHF: 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship (official tournament site, accessed 10 November 2026).
Cover photo: goaltenders of the Danish women’s national team during the Japan–Denmark game at the 2017 Women’s World Championship Division IA. Photo by Ailura, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT, via Wikimedia Commons: archive photo from 16 April 2017, not from the 2026 tournament and not a Napapiri installation.
