HERNING, Denmark -- Jessie Eldridge scored twice and added an assist as Canada opened the women’s ice hockey world championship by easing past Sweden 5-1 on Friday.

The youngest Canada team since 2013 with an average age of 26 jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening period with goals from Eldridge, Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie.

Kendall Cooper added the fourth on a power play midway through the second.

Hanna Thuvik pulled one back for Sweden on a power play in the final period before Eldridge finished the scoring with her second.

Canada goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 13 shots in the Group B game.

In Group A, the Czech Republic had to rally to beat Austria 4-1. Austria is playing in the top division for the first time. Katerina Mrazova led the Czechs with two goals and an assist.

Defending champion the United States opens later Friday against Switzerland in Group A and last year’s bronze medalist Finland faces host Denmark in Herning.

The U.S. and Canada are the tournament favorites, continuing a long-standing cross-border rivalry. Canada has won 13 world titles followed by the U.S. with 11 spanning the previous 24 championships.

The Americans have won 10 of the past 14 worlds and claimed the 2025 title in the Czech Republic and the Olympic gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games in February, beating Canada in overtime in both finals.

Finland is the only other team apart from Canada and the U.S. to reach the final, doing so in 2019.

The 11-day, 10-nation tournament in the Danish cities of Esbjerg and Herning is the first to take place in November after the IIHF moved it to open before the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Rather than having the top five teams grouped together as before, the field has been split into two groups of five based on rankings, with the U.S. leading one group and Canada the other.

The top four from each group qualify for the playoffs with the final set for Nov. 16.

The bottom two will play a relegation game.

Canada and the U.S. wear generic jerseys without their logos mandated by the International Ice Hockey Federation that were designed by IIHF supplier True Hockey.

Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have their own apparel and jersey contracts with Bauer and CCM, respectively.

The two have been suing the IIHF over the dispute at a Swiss court.