Workforce USA headed to ladies’s hockey gold medal sport, guaranteeing {hardware} for eighth straight Winter Olympics

Aerin Frankel stopped 21 pictures for her third shutout of the Olympic ladies’s hockey event and the favored United States superior to the gold-medal sport by defeating Sweden 5-0 on the Milan Cortina Video games on Monday.

Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hayley Scamurra scored on consecutive pictures over a 2:47 late within the second interval to blow the sport open and put the People up 5-0. Cayla Barnes opened the scoring and Taylor Heise additionally scored.

The People continued their roll by means of the event by bettering to 6-0, and outscoring their opponents by a mixed 31-1. The U.S. has but to path or be tied after 0-0, and is able to grow to be the third ladies’s workforce to take action over the whole event, becoming a member of Canada in 2006 and 2010.

The U.S. additionally prolonged its shutout streak to 331 minutes, 23 seconds, going again to Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova beating Frankel on a breakaway within the second interval of a tournament-opening 5-1 win.

Monday’s match confirmed the U.S. dominance but in addition the workforce’s physicality, with a number of scuffles breaking out on the ice. 

The People’ shutout victory over Sweden, coupled with Canada’s win later within the day over Switzerland within the different semifinal sport, arrange what might be a seventh gold-medal showdown in opposition to Canada on Thursday.

The U.S. already beat Canada 5-0 in a preliminary spherical sport final week. The People gained Olympic gold in 1998 and 2018, with Canada successful the opposite 5 tournaments.

Each Olympic gold medal match in ladies’s hockey, besides one, has been U.S. versus Canada. 

That is Coyne Schofield’s fourth journey to the Olympics. She beforehand took house a gold and two silvers. That is Captain Hilary Knight’s fifth journey to the Olympics. She’s medaled 4 occasions, taking house a gold and three silvers. 

Knight, throughout a preliminary spherical sport in opposition to Canada on Feb. 10, tied the all-time U.S. ladies’s hockey file for many Olympic factors. The 5-0 sport was the biggest margin of victory ever within the U.S.-Canada Olympic hockey rivalry, based on Workforce USA.

Sweden will play for bronze on Thursday in an effort to medal for the third time in workforce historical past, and first since successful silver on the 2006 Turin Video games after upsetting the U.S. within the semifinals.

Ebba Svensson Traff stopped 19 of 23 pictures earlier than she was pulled after Coyne Schofield tipped in Laila Edwards’ shot from the blue line with 3:50 left within the second interval. 

Emma Soderberg took over in purpose and was overwhelmed by Scamurra, who tapped in Britta Curl-Salemme’s centering cross 1:49 later. Soderberg completed with 10 saves.

Amongst these in attendance was former NFL middle Jason Kelce, who was proven on the scoreboard applauding the purpose initially credited to Edwards. Kelce is from Edwards’ hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and he and his brother, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce, contributed to a GoFundMe drive to assist pay for Edwards’ household to attend the Milan Cortina Video games.

Sweden loved a breakthrough this 12 months with a younger, gifted group that options seven gamers competing within the U.S. faculty ranks. Sweden went 4-0 to win Group B, after which upset Czechia 2-0 within the quarterfinals.

Although the Swedes stored the sport shut by means of 35 minutes, the People ultimately wore them down.

And the united statescertainly did not resemble a workforce that did not wish to play Sweden, as coach Ulf Lundberg steered after the Swedes beat Czechia within the quarterfinals.

Although the Swedes stored the U.S. largely to the perimeter within the opening interval, they have been nonetheless outshot 13-2.

Barnes scored with a snap shot from the highest of the precise circle and beat Svensson Traff excessive on the brief facet. Barnes’ purpose was her first level of the event, leaving seventh defender Rory Guilday because the lone American skater to not but register some extent by means of six video games.

Heise made it 2-0 on the 9:08 mark of the second interval by one-timing in Hannah Bilka’s backhand cross by means of the center. Svensson Traff acquired her glove on the shot, however the puck deflected throughout her physique and into the web off the within of her stick.