2025 Worlds Report Card: Norway
Norway finishes 4th in Group B and will return to Division 1A Worlds competition in 2026.
Unfortunately for Norway, their return to the top division of Worlds competition for the first time was 1997 was short-lived. This tournament was a tough test for a team that clawed its way to promotion a year ago as a result of close wins and excellent goaltending. Sadly, there was no magic for Norway in Czechia.
Team Norway went 1-3-0 in the group stage which resulted in a fourth-place finish in Group B and relegation to Division 1A for 2026. Their lone victory came at the expense of Team Hungary in a 3-0 win but most will remember them being completely dismantled by Team Sweden in an 8-0 loss.
Offense | D
Norway's offense just wasn't up to the challenge at this level. They averaged 21.5 SOG/GP – the lowest average shot volume in Group B and were over-dependent on their top line to generate offense. Andrea Dalen, Millie Rose Sirum, and Matthea Fischer accounted for over 50 percent of the team's shots on goal. That trio also scored four of Norway's seven goals.
One crushing number that the Norwegians will take with them from Czechia is a 0.0% success rate on the power play. In four games, Norway failed to score a power play goal and spent just over six minutes on the advantage. That speaks to the team's inability to draw penalties. Drawing penalties can be correlated to losing in the shot share – you draw penalties more often when you have possession of the puck. Given that Norway had 86 SF and allowed 196 SA in four contests, we don't need to go deeper than the surface-level stats to tell us the offense simply fell short.
Defense | D
As a team, Norway allowed 44.75 SA/GP. Giving them a "D" may be letting them off easy.
I'm in no rush to blame Norway's relegation on any individual defenders. Even in the case of Iben Tillman posting a -7, one has to wonder why so much was asked of a 19-year-old (18:57 TOI/GP). The defense, as a whole, left a lot to be desired and that comes down to tactics, coaching, and development. Norway just wasn't ready for the pressure that a rising power like Team Sweden could apply, which resulted in an embarrassing 8-0 loss.
It is worth noting that Norway's defense notched two goals – including one from Emma Bergesen of SDE. So, there are silver linings to embrace here. This blue line's oldest skater was 25 and none of them had experience at this level of competition. Czechia was a big test and it proved that Norway's defense has to do some more homework.
Goaltending | A
Ena Nystrøm was simply fantastic in Czechia.
Her 45-save shutout against Hungary was one of the best single-game performances in the 2025 Worlds. Another big stat from Nystrøm's tournament – she allowed just one power-play goal in four starts. Just like we saw in last year's 2015 Division 1A Worlds, Nystrøm's excellent play made a lot of things possible for Norway. She finished the tournament with a .921 Sv% and proved that she can compete at the top level.
MVP
It's Nystrøm. It really has to be.
Norway's only win of the tournament – the 3-o win over Hungary – was thanks to the brilliance of their 24-year-old starting goaltender. Even against Sweden, where she left the game after allowing five goals, Nystrøm stopped 33 of the 38 shots, an .868 Sv% in 40 minutes. That was the only game where she wasn't special and her team simply didn't do enough to help her.
Most importantly, Nystrøm played well enough for her team to win against Hungary, Germany, and Japan. She proved to everyone that she is her team's top player that she is a player to build the program around.
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