The 21-year-old Linköping goalkeeper has had a resounding success in the Olympics where she was somewhat surprisingly chosen as the first choice by national team captain Ulf Lundberg.
She has been in four of Sweden's five winning matches, kept a clean sheet twice and has only conceded two goals after facing 84 shots against her so far in the tournament.
That puts her in second place in the goaltender rankings with a somewhat improbable 97.62 save percentage. Only USA goalkeeper Aerin Frankel is ahead at 97.78 - but she has faced only 44 shots.
Ebba Svensson Träff will be the key if Sweden is to be able to make a splash again.
“Under their skin”
The USA, which has eleven World Cup gold medals and two Olympic gold medals, has only lost once to Sweden in history - that classic day in Turin in February 2006 when the Tre Kronor women won after a penalty shootout.
According to the Swedish Ice Hockey Association's statistics, the nations have met 55 times over the years in championships and regular international matches.
We know they are really skilled, but if we stay close and get under their skin, things will probably go well, says Svensson Träff in her calm way.
Her calmness on the ice has become her hallmark.
She is described as being extremely competitive, something she brought with her from home in Oskarshamn, where she grew up with her national teammate Hilda Svensson, a first-line forward.
We hung out quite a bit when we were little, played on the same team and stayed on the ice and practiced penalties and everything. It's really fun to do this with her, says Svensson.
“Always knew”
What do you think about her tournament?
I can hardly describe in words how good she is. It's so fun that she gets to show it off at an international level. I've always known how good she is, says Svensson.
Svensson has one goal and five assists so far in the tournament.
Together with their brothers Ludwig Svensson Träff, who plays in the first team with Tranås; Joel Svensson, at Swedish club Oskarshamn; and their cousin Herman Träff, top scorer in Oskarshamn, they played together both in the club's youth team and on the sidelines of the organized team.
When asked why she became a goalkeeper, she answers:
I didn't have much choice; my brother and my cousins put me in the goal (laughter).
Her parents are there during the Olympics - "it means a lot" - and she has received many reactions from home about her Olympic efforts:
Many people get in touch and are happy; you can see that everyone cares so much. It's just so cool.
Goran Sundberg/TT
Facts: How the semi-finals are played
TT
Monday: USA–Sweden (4:40 p.m.), Canada–Switzerland (9:10 p.m.).
+ Both matches will be played in Santagiulia Arena.
+ If there is a tie at full time in the semi-finals, the following applies: three-on-three play (plus goalkeepers) for a maximum of ten minutes, with the first goal deciding. If it is still tied, it will be decided by penalties, five per team, and if it is still tied, sudden-death penalties follow, one round at a time.
