With the 2026 Winter Olympics right around the corner, Purple Posts is celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in Olympic women’s hockey history. On this episode, host LJ Bachenheimer is joined by Meredith Foster, editor and international hockey expert at The Ice Garden, to talk about Sweden’s remarkable run to a silver medal at the 2006 Torino Games. With a roster based around previous success and college connections, plus a young phenom in goal, Sweden pushed through challenges and the world’s best women’s hockey teams to earn their spot in the gold medal game. LJ and Meredith walk through the team’s identity, the career of “cheat code” forward Maria Rooth, the remarkable shootout win over Team USA, and more. Stay to the end for our 2026 Olympics predictions!

Purple Posts is a podcast about the memorable, funny, and sometimes just strange moments in women’s hockey history, presented by The Ice Garden Podcast Network. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a five-star review. You can also follow The Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today.

Intro and outro music: Modestly Rude by Jhovanny Fontanez © copyright 2009. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Nobuo3000/19015