MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Sweden leave Milan without a medal but with pride intact, said coach Ulf Lundberg, as one of the early powerhouse nations of women's ice hockey celebrated a return to form.
Sweden came up short in the bronze medal game against Switzerland 2-1 on Thursday, losing in heartbreaking fashion in overtime. But while they missed the podium, there were plenty of positives to take from their deepest Olympic run in 12 years.
"Sometimes the journey is the goal," said Lundberg. "I am as proud of the players as I would have been if we had a bronze medal."
Once a major contender in the women's game, with a bronze in 2002 and a silver in 2006, Sweden failed to make it past the quarter-finals in 2018 and 2022, with a demoralising 11-0 defeat by Canada in the final eight in Beijing.
They put the world on notice that the slump was over in Milan, where they burst through Group B undefeated before running into the favourites United States in the semi-final.
"Obviously empty now. At the same time I'm very proud of this team and what we accomplished," said captain Anna Kjellbin. "We won this quarter-final that we've been losing for so many years now. Played a pretty good semi-final as well."
Sweden's players boycotted their national team in 2019, citing a need for improvement in both pay and working conditions and Kjellbin said she hoped their Milan campaign would spark the next generation.
"I hope there's a lot of young girls sitting and watching our game and if they're not already in the sport I hope they take the chance and start playing hockey," said Kjellbin.
"I think the future of women's hockey in Sweden is bright and I can't wait to experience that."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, Janina Nuno Rios and Giulio Piovaccari in MilanEditing by Christian Radnedge)
