As the Beijing Olympics 2022 came to an end, I thought it would be nice to write a blog post recapping the Japanese Women’s Ice Hockey and how they played this tournament.
Recapping The Japanese Women’s Ice Hockey Team During The 2022 Olympics
Preview
Coming into the tournament, there were people saying that the Japanese team had a decent chance of making it to the knock-out stage. It made sense, in terms of women’s ice hockey world rankings, they topped their group in the Olympics. The teams in their group consisted of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and China. In the Women’s World Championship last year, the Japanese side lost to the Czech Republic team, 4-0. The Japanese team also had a tough time against Denmark, winning by a mere score of 1-0. How the games against Sweden and China were going to pan out was uncertain and it looked like the Japanese team may have some trouble getting out of their group. And making it out of the group and moving on to the Quarterfinals was a big goal of Japan, as they have not done it in the past Olympics.
How The Team Played Leading Up To The 2022 Olympics
In the last Olympics, in 2018, Japan finished sixth after only winning one game in the group stage. Although they couldn’t make it out of the group stage, they won their first-ever game in the Olympics, which was a step in the right direction. Since then, Japan has improved, making some noise in the World Championship last year, in which they made the quarterfinals and finished sixth, the highest ever for the national team. On top of that, in 2019, Japan climbed the Ice Hockey women’s world ranking and placed sixth.
Three years later, that was where they ranked sixth, and as a result, they were automatically qualified for the 2022 Olympics. In contrast, the Japanese team had to go through a qualification tournament in order to qualify for the last Olympics, in Pyeongchang in 2018. They went against Germany, France and Austria, winning all three games and managed to qualify.
VS Sweden – February 3
To start the Olympics for team Japan, their opponent was Sweden, and it marked the third straight Olympics where the two teams faced off against each other for their first game. In the last two encounters, Japan suffered defeat, losing 1-0 in 2014 before losing 3-2 four years later.
Four minutes into the game, Hikaru Yamashita took a penalty and it gave the Swedish team a power-play opportunity. The Swedish team couldn’t convert and around six minutes later, Japan got a power-play opportunity. They couldn’t convert either and for the rest of the period, both teams exchanged chances. It was Japan who scored first and took the lead when Shiori Koike beat the Swedish goaltender, Emma Soderberg in the low slot with less than a minute left in the first period.
Second And Third Period
Sweden wasn’t going down without a fight and just 30 seconds into the second period, Maja Nylen-Persson took a shot that trickled past Japan’s goaltender Nana Fujimoto to tie the game. Although Japan had a power-play opportunity when Ebba Berglund for Sweden took a penalty, they couldn’t convert it and the game remained tied going into the third period. Four minutes into the period, Japan took the lead again when Rui Ukita flew down the right side and sniped one past the Swedish netminder. For the rest of the game, Fujimoto held the fort down against a desperate Swedish team, maintaining Japan’s one-goal lead. With 61 seconds left in the game, Haruna Yoneyama put the game away with an empty-net goal.
Final score (Shots on goal)
Sweden: 1 (27)
Japan: 3 (40)
VS Denmark – February 5
Their second game was against Denmark, whom they played a good game against in the World Championship last year. For the second game in a row, Japan struck first when a flying Yamashita rushed down the right side of the ice and brought it around a sprawling Danish netminder, Cassandra Repstock-Romme, to tuck in a nice goal. Adding onto the lead, Haruka Toko and Ukita scored back-to-back goals and Japan was up 3-0 heading into the second period.
Second And Third Period
Around three minutes into the second period, Ayaka Toko (sister of Haruka Toko) took a perfectly placed slap shot which found its way over the shoulder of the Danish goaltender and into the back of the net. Then it was Mia Bau of Denmark who sniped one over the shoulder of Fujimoto after streaking in on the left side. Shortly after, Yoneyama took a penalty, giving Denmark a chance to cut the deficit to one goal. However, they were unable to score and in the span of six minutes, Denmark had two penalties, giving Japan an opportunity. On the second power-play, Akane Shiga scored and did so in the dying seconds in the second period.
The momentum carried over to the third period as Yoneyama scored in her second straight game in the third period. In the dying seconds of the game, Josefine Jakobsen scored a goal as Denmark ultimately lost 6-2 to Japan.
Final Score (Shots on goal)
Japan: 6 (42)
Denmark: 1 (20)
VS China – February 6
The third matchup for Japan was against their rivals and hosts of the Olympics as they looked to move on to the quarterfinals. China was determined to win and came out of the gates strong, putting lots of pressure on the opposing team. It was Japan that struck first, when Akane Hosoyamada took a slap shot that beat the Chinese goaltender, Jiaying Zhou, with under 2 minutes left in the first period on the power-play. Due to neither team scoring the rest of this period and the next, Japan held a 1-0 lead going into the third period. Just two minutes into the third period, Fujimoto was unable to control a bouncing puck that went right onto Baozhen Hu’s stick and into the back of the net.
China got a huge momentum boost from this goal as they had numerous chances, such as a three-on-one, but was unable to capitalize. Japan had a few chances of their own but could not find the back of the net as well. This meant that the game went to overtime, for the first time in the tournament. Both teams came close to scoring such as when Le Mi of China scored initially before it was waved off or when Japan’s Koike had a breakaway but was denied by Jiaying. As the clock ticked down, neither team was able to capitalize on their chances, meaning it was time to go to shootout.
First Shootout In The 2022 Olympics
The first three players of either team couldn’t put the puck into the back of the net. It was the Chinese player, who had her goal taken back in overtime, Mi, who scored and was the only player to do so. The next two players for Japan couldn’t beat Jiaying as the Chinese players rushed off the bench to celebrate their victory over Japan. Despite the loss, Japan managed to qualify for the quarterfinals and it was the first time they did so, for the first time ever!
Final score (Shots on goal)
China: 2 (30)
Japan: 1 (33)
VS Czech Republic – February 8
Coming into the game, both teams were looking to win and move onto the quarterfinals as the Group B winner. Japan was looking to avenge their loss against the Czech Republic in the World Championship last year. Coming out of the gates strong was the Czech Republic and they sustained pressure in the offensive zone. It wasn’t really until the first powerplay of the game that Japan had some offensive zone time and the Japanese team took advantage of that opportunity. After initially having her shot blocked by a Czech defender, Haruka Toko picked up the loose puck and fired it over the Czech goaltender, Klara Peslarova. No other goals were scored as the first period ended with Japan leading 1-0.
Second Period
A bit over six minutes into the second period, Denisa Krizova had a chance off a broken play. She carried the puck into the attacking zone and fought off Sena Suzuki before backhanding it towards the net. Fujimoto initially stopped it at first but she was unable to control the puck and squeeze her arm as the puck trickled past her and went into the net. Near the end of the second period, two Czech players took a penalty and it was a five-on-three opportunity for Japan. Although Japan couldn’t convert, this opportunity carried itself into the next period.
Third Period
In the next period, Japan sustained pressure in the Czech zone as they tried to take advantage of the five on three. Haruka Toko shot the puck, which hit the goalpost and bounced in front of the net. There was some scrambling around as both teams tried to fish the puck out. It was Haruka Toko who found the puck and made no mistake putting the puck into the back of the net. A bit over five minutes later, Natalie Mlynkova took a shot, after a face-off win by her centremen, and it hit a Japanese defender’s stick, making the puck bobble a bit as it flew towards the net. The puck made a small arc as it flew over the shoulder of Fujimoto and into the net.
Throughout the rest of the third period, both teams had chances, but were unable to capitalize. This held true for overtime as well as the game headed to shootout, the second game in a row for Japan.
Japan Goes To Shootout In The Second Straight Game
The first shooters for both teams were unable to score and it was Hanae Kubo who skated to the middle of the ice to take her attempt. She missed her attempt last game against China and she looked to score to avenge that miss. After picking the puck up, Kubo briefly brings the puck to the right before making her way to the left side. As she approaches the goalie, she fakes once before bringing the puck to the right and sliding the puck between the five-hole. The puck trickles past the goalie and ultimately the goal line.
Both goaltenders are perfect the next couple of attempts by the skaters and finally, it is Alena Mills‘s turn to shoot. If she scores, the shootout continues. If Fujimoto saves it, Japan wins and moves on to the quarterfinals as the Group B winners. The left-handed player made her way down the right side and shoot one far side before being stopped by Fujimoto. Game over. Japan moves on to the next round as the Group B winners!
Final score (Shots on goal)
Japan: 3 (25)
Czech Republic: 2 (38)
VS Finland – February 12
Coming into the game, Japan looked to one-up themselves and advance to the semi-finals. However, things didn’t look pretty early on and it was foreshadowing the rest of the game. Just 50 seconds into the game, a penalty was called against Japan and Finland scored on this advantage. A bulls-eye from the point by Finnish defender, Petra Nieminen. Around two and a half minutes later, Viivi Vainikka deflected one into the net off a shot from her defenceman, Nelli Laitinen. Finland continued to sustain pressure in the Japanese zone and thwarted most of the chances that came her way. It was hard for Japan to create any chances until a power-play opportunity in the 11th minute. Although they were unable to convert, they were able to gain some momentum, which Japan was able to use.
Japan Scores One But It Isn’t Enough As Finland Pummels Them
About a minute after the power-play ended, Akane Shiga rushed down the right side of the ice with Haruka Toko coming down the middle, creating a two on one opportunity. As Shiga was near the top of the circle, she looked to the inside, signalling a pass and causing the Finnish defender to dive in an attempt to block the pass. Instead of passing, Shiga fired a low hard shot, right between the wickets of the Finnish netminder, Anni Keisala, and into the net. However, that goal wasn’t enough to spur a comeback as Finland scored five unanswered goals en route to a crushing 7-1 victory over Japan.
Final score (Shots on goal)
Finland: 7 (49)
Japan: 1 (25)
Notable Statistics
Five Japanese players finished top ten in terms of Time On Ice (TOI), or minutes played per game. Ayaka Toko and Aoi Shiga finished second and third. The other players were Ukita (fifth), Akane Shiga (ninth) and Haruka Toko (tenth). These five players are pretty young as the average between them is 24 years old. The oldest of the bunch is Ayaka Toko, 27 years old, and the youngest is Akane Shiga, 20 years old.
Although Akane Shiga was unable to build on her impressive international resume (she scored two goals against the USA and finished with four goals in the 2021 World Women’s Championship, Haruka Toko was able to carry the offensive load of the Japanese team, leading the team in goals (3) and points (6). She also helped her team in the face-off department, with 57.38%, which was an area the team struggled in. The second player on the team in this category didn’t even finish with over 50%.
Goaltending Situation
Fujimoto helped her team have an opportunity to win every game and made timely saves, finishing with a Save Percentage of .920 despite allowing seven goals against Finland. Japan may need to look for a replacement as she is currently 32 years old. A question that will linger over the team as the next Olympics looms closer and closer is whether she will have enough gas in her to play. If Japan does replace her, a potential replacement could be Akane Konishi, who was Fujimoto’s backup this Olympics. Albeit a small sample size (two games and 14 shots against), Konishi finished the Olympics with a Save Percentage of .929.
Special Teams
Japan has a pretty good power-play and this was evident during the Olympics. They converted 23.5% of their opportunities, which was third among all teams when they bowed out of the Olympics. However, their penalty kill struggled, and they finished with an 81.82% success rate, sixth among all the teams. This heavily contrasted with their World Championship last year, where they finished fourth and had a 91.3% success rate.
Final thoughts
Overall, Japan played pretty well: they made it to the quarterfinals, which was the first time ever they did so, as Group B winners. As a result of this competition, it is evident that Japan is not quite yet among the top five ice nations in terms of women’s ice hockey but they are improving steadily. They beat the Czech Republic, which was a team they lost to last year, and dominated in the game against Denmark, 6-1, which is also an improvement from last year (last year they barely beat them). The majority of this team could potentially play in the next Olympics as the average age of the team is 25, which is relatively young. It will be interesting to see how this team performs in the next Olympics as they look to build on the success of this one.
Read my last blog post: What Ice Hockey is like in Japan