Germany tops Japan to improve to 2-0 at women's hockey worlds

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 in Utica, N.Y.

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.