Canada and the United States had no trouble making their debuts in the group stage of the women’s ice hockey contest at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, beating Switzerland and Finland, respectively, with elastic scores this Thursday, February 3.
Current title holders, America clinched a 5-1 win over Finland, while Canada showed that they are candidates for gold after beating Switzerland 12-1.
Canada opened the scoring just 64 seconds into the match with Sarah Fillier, who also made it second. Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull and Laura Stacey (twice each), Erin Ambrose, Claire Thompson, Rebecca Johnston and Ashton Bell round out the score. Lara Stalder discount.
Despite not playing together since mid-December, the Canadian team did not give their Swiss rivals the slightest chance at the National Indoor Stadium. The biggest Olympic sport winner among women, with four golds, the team won only silver at PyeongChang 2018.
The North American team match also started quietly. Kessel opened the scoring with a minute and a half of the game, in a game initiated by the side. Carpenter flourished shortly after, in an attempt to play power for North America. In the second half, captain Coyne Schofield scored two goals and the team entered the last half with a 4-0 win.
Tapani scored for Finland, but Carpenter took the fifth and sealed the US victory. The match would also see Finland’s second goal, scored again by Tapani, which was controversial as the ball hit the post and soon after the camera was in goal.
Japan stars big zebra today
Opening the round, the Czech Republic beat hosts the People’s Republic of China 3-1 at Wukesong Sports Center, in the match going for group A. Tereza Radova, Denisa Krisova and Michaela Pezljova played for the Czechs, with Mi Le discounted.
Also in group A, Japan got a big shock that day, beating Sweden 3-1. Japan opened the scoring with Koike with 48 seconds remaining in the first half. However, Sweden equalized with Nylen-Persson 30 seconds into the second half after a goalkeeper missed.
Japan regained the lead early in the third half, with a lovely individual move by Ukita, and extended just before the end, Yonehama sealed the win. Another highlight of the match was goalkeeper Fujimoto, who came back from Sweden’s goal miss by making more than 25 saves. It is the first time in seven games that Japan has beaten Sweden in both World and Olympic disputes.
Ten teams compete for gold in women’s ice hockey, divided into two groups. All teams in group A will advance to the quarter-finals, facing each other only to determine the seed of the next phase. The top three in group B also qualify for the quarter-finals.
Nana Fujimoto from Japan celebrates victory over Sweden at Wukesong Sports Center
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
To learn more about ice hockey in Beijing 2022, check out our preview by clicking here. And don’t miss a minute of the Winter Olympics by learning about the events scheduled for February 4th,
where to watch
From the Opening Ceremony to the competitions here is where and how you can follow the Games in your area with the Official Olympic Broadcasting Partners. In Brazil, you can also follow on Olympics.com.
