The U.S. women’s hockey team has humiliated its competition en route to the gold medal game after a 5-0 win over Sweden in the semifinals.
The semifinal script was a familiar one for the Americans. They controlled play in the first period, but an excellent effort from Swedish goaltender Ebba Svensson Traff kept the score close. That was followed by a red, white and blue avalanche in the second period.
Thanks to three goals on three shots in under three minutes, the Americans blew the game wide open and took a 5-0 lead into the third period. From there, the U.S. put it in cruise control with the final in sight.
This blowout win over Sweden was a team effort for the U.S. as five different players found the back of the net and 13 different players registered a point. The only two players to find the scoresheet multiple times were Hannah Bilka and Abbey Murphy. The former tallied two assists, and the latter notched one goal and one helper.
The Americans have simply been a runaway train in these Olympics, and they haven’t allowed a goal since the second period of their opening game against Finland. The U.S. has strung together five consecutive shutouts and has outscored its opponents 31-1 in this tournament.
Team USA can finish off one of the most dominant runs in Olympic history in the gold medal game against rival Canada on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. women’s hockey Olympic schedule
All times Eastern
Preliminary round
- Thursday, Feb. 5: USA 5, Czechia 1
- Saturday, Feb. 7: USA 5, Finland 0
- Monday, Feb. 9: USA 5, Switzerland 0
- Tuesday, Feb. 10: USA 5, Canada 0
Quarterfinal
- Friday, Feb. 13: USA 6, Italy 0
Semifinal
- Monday, Feb. 16: USA 5, Sweden 0
Gold medal game
- USA vs. Canada | Thursday, Feb. 19 | 1:10 p.m. | TBD
