Sports
The Individuals, who’ve outscored and outshot their opponents by large margins for 4 video games, landed their first regulation Olympic win over the Canadians since 1998 — once they did it twice.
MILAN — For america girls’s hockey staff, there’s one recreation on the Olympics that issues.
In the event that they hold enjoying like this, they are going to be enjoying in it. Whether or not Canada joins them is one other matter.
The Individuals earned their most lopsided Olympic win over their largest rival, 5-0, in Tuesday’s preliminaries at Santagiulia Area, persevering with a dominant begin to the 2026 Winter Video games.
Hannah Bilka scored twice. Caroline Harvey had a aim and two assists, and Abbey Murphy had three assists and drew three penalties. Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards additionally scored for Crew USA, which beat Canada for the primary time on the Olympics for the reason that 2018 gold medal recreation.
Canada was reeling from the absence of famous person Marie-Philip Poulin, whose right leg injury leaves her availability doubtful. The 35-year-old, enjoying in her record-tying fifth Video games, missed an Olympic contest for the primary time since her 2010 debut.
The absence of Captain Canada was a Canadian disaster, however it was not the one issue at play.
The US retains proving itself because the quickest, most expert group in girls’s hockey. From Harvey’s dancing with the puck to Murphy’s spin-o-rama help to Bilka’s exact ending, they’re being carried by their younger stars. They chased Canadian netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens, who allowed all 5 objectives earlier than ceding the web to Emerance Maschmeyer with seven minutes left.
The Individuals, who’ve outscored (15-1) and outshot (169-66) their opponents by large margins for 4 video games, landed their first regulation Olympic win over the Canadians since 1998, once they did it twice.
Aerin Frankel made 20 saves and recorded the primary shutout of Canada by an American goalie on the Olympics. The Northeastern grad and Boston Fleet ace has given up one aim in her three begins (3-0).
Hilary Knight (help), whose subsequent aim will set the US girls’s report on the Olympics, tied Jenny Potter’s factors report together with her 32d. She can be enjoying in her US-record fifth Video games.
This was the seventh time in a row the US has overwhelmed Canada, courting again to the World Championships final April. It has outscored them, 35-11, in that run.
In 2002, the Individuals took eight in a row from their northern rivals earlier than dropping the gold medal recreation in Salt Lake Metropolis.
The US clinched Group A and can play Italy within the quarterfinals. The Italians, who’re ranked seventeenth on the planet by the IIHF, completed third in Group B and made the playoffs for the primary time. They completed in final place in Turin 2006, their solely different look on the match.
Canada will face Germany, which completed second in Group B after beating Italy on a late aim by Laura Kluge, who performs for the Fleet.
Sweden received Group B, which not like the boys’s match is deliberately unbalanced to encourage competitors. The 5 groups in Group A — the US, Canada, Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland — are the highest 5 on the planet rankings and robotically advance to the quarterfinals.
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