Brenkle, a 17-year-old Brynas IF forward, snared a loose puck on the rush and golfed it high into the net with 8:52 left.
"I think that we can do better, but it's good we found a way to win even if we didn't play our best," said Svensson.
Rounding out Group B action, the unbeaten Swedes will face the U.S. on Wednesday as they vie to nail down first place. Slovakia, stil seeking its first win, faces host Switzerland that day.
Hilda Svensson, who impressively led Sweden with 11 points at the 2023 Women's Worlds in Brampton, Ontario, totalled two goals and two assists. Mira Hallin scored twice on the power play and added an assist, and captain Ebba Hedqvist had three assists.
The Swedes outshot Slovakia 57-18.
For Slovakia, 2023 tournament MVP Nela Lopusanova had a goal, as did Lenka Karkoskova and Ema Tothova. For the second consecutive game, the Slovaks scored first and were tied through 40 minutes, but couldn't nab any points.
"It feels amazing that we tied the game and we had a chance to win," said Tothova. "But the third period was bad for us because we did a couple of mistakes and that cost us the game."
Slovak starting goalie Livia Debnarova, who was pulled in the third period against the Americans, was a difference-maker to keep her team in it.
These two sides were coming off very different openers. Coach Andreas Karlsson’s Swedes set the right tone on Day One with a 6-1 thumping of the Swiss. Coach Gabriela Sabolova’s Slovaks gave the U.S. a hard fight through two periods before allowing six unanswered goals for a 7-1 loss.
"Maybe it's a problem for our girls to keep it going for 60 minutes," said Sabolova. "We hope we can improve this during the tournament."
Lopusanova earned 12 points en route to MVP honours as a 14-year-old IIHF rookie. That included multiple highlight-reel goals, including the first “Michigan” goal ever scored in IIHF play. The Zilina-born sniper was hungry to score here after going pointless in her first 2024 game.
Just 1:14 in, Lopusanova drew first blood on the power play after Sweden’s Linnea Natt och Dag was sent off for tripping Tothova. A Lilien Benakova shot rebounded off Swedish goalie Lovisa Lundstrom’s pad to the Bishop Kearney Selects sniper in the right faceoff circle. Lopusanova snapped the puck high into the net and celebrated with exuberance.
"I'm so happy to be here," said Lopusanova. "It's a really big opportunity for me. I think I'm stronger. And I want to bring some really good energy to the team and be a leader on our team."
The Swedes came right back at their opponents. Hedqvist waltzed right in on Debnarova, forcing her to make a nice right pad save. At the other end, Lundstrom foiled Slovak captain Tatania Blichkova twice on solo dashes.
Sweden went ahead on two near-identical power play goals. Hedqvist found Hallin unguarded at Debnarova’s crease to finish off a tic-tac-toe passing play at 14:23. And with 30 seconds left in the period, Hallin capitalized again with her captain’s help. The duo also plays together with MoDo Hockey.
"They play really well together," Hilda Svensson said. "I think they have played together since they were really small. It's fun to watch."
Early in the second period, Blichkova had to be helped off after sliding hard into the end boards after a scoring chance on the rush. However, she would return.
At 7:36, with Sweden applying pressure, Hilda Svensson made it 3-1 with a quick release from the right faceoff circle, set up by Isabelle Leijonhielm.
"It's fun that I can perform like that," Svensson said. "My confidence is higher. My teammates helped me. I think we we play good together."
The Slovaks weren't ready to surrender. Blichkova looked none the worse for wear when she helped Slovakia exploit a Swedish defensive-zone turnover by Rebecka Hollstrom to cut the deficit to 3-2 at 10:05. Blichkova pivoted to fling the puck left to Karkoskova, who backhanded it past Lundstrom from close range.
"It's very good for my performance to face these strong opponents with Slovakia," said Karkoskova.
Tothova made it 3-3 at 16:09 when she powered in off right wing to beat Lundstrom over the glove in spectacular fashion. The Slovaks were fortunate to be tied, as second-period shots favoured Sweden by a whopping 21-5 margin.
Hilda Svensson rang one off the post early in the third period while colliding with a Slovak defender. She went off to the bench wincing. The Swedes didn't stop pressing, and Brenkle's winner soon materialized.
Svensson made it 5-3 at 12:50 with a deflection that trickled into the net off defender Liana Tomastikova's skate. Ella Hellman added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Of facing Switzerland next, Tothova said: "I think we have a chance against them. Our game and the entire team is getting better every day. I think we will win."
Sweden hopes to build on its surprising silver medal last year on home ice in Ostersund. The Swedes also won silver in 2018.
Slovakia lost both its previous WW18 meetings with Sweden, 4-2 on 26 December, 2019 and 6-1 on 12 January 2023.
