MILAN, Italy – Hilary Knight continued her ascent into hockey royalty on Saturday, tying the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey career goal record in a dominant 5-0 victory over Finland at the Milan Cortina Games. The win for the Americans was particularly emphatic given Finland’s recent struggles with a norovirus outbreak that impacted the team’s preparation.
Knight’s 14th Olympic goal, scored midway through the second period, brought her level with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King. “Electric. I love how it’s like sort of everybody’s got a hand in the win, right? Whether it’s passing off shifts, finding the back of the net, making the right pass, the right play. It’s really a selflessness that we’ve got in that room and I’m really proud of the way this group’s showing up so far,” Knight said after the game. The captain, appearing in her record-fifth Winter Olympics, expressed her honor at being mentioned alongside the legendary Darwitz and King.
The Americans didn’t just rely on Knight’s milestone moment. Alex Carpenter opened the scoring with a power-play goal, continuing a trend from their opening win against Czechia. Taylor Heise then added her name to the scoresheet with a skillful back-door snipe, marking her first Olympic goal. Megan Keller, a three-time Olympian, finally broke through with her first career Olympic goal, while Abbey Murphy, the NCAA leading goal scorer, added a late goal to extend the lead.
Aerin Frankel was a standout in net for the U.S., recording her first Olympic shutout with 11 saves. The performance was particularly impressive as it came in only her second career Olympic game.
Finland, still recovering from the effects of the norovirus that sidelined several players earlier in the week, struggled to compete with the Americans’ speed and strength. Despite dressing a full team for the first time since , the Finns were clearly hampered. “If we want to compete against them, we’ve got to outsmart them on the ice because they’re faster, they’re stronger, so we’ve got to win somewhere and we’ve got to play smarter. But we weren’t actually very smart today in the first or in the second. In the third, a couple of times, but that’s where we need to improve,” said Finland’s head coach Tero Lehtera, acknowledging his team’s difficulties.
The Americans dominated possession, outshooting Finland 49-11. Finland’s goaltender, Sanni Ahola, a PWHL rookie with the Ottawa Charge, faced a barrage of shots, making an impressive 44 saves in her Olympic debut despite the lopsided scoreline.
The win moves the U.S. To 2-0 in the tournament, while Finland falls to 0-1. The Canada-Finland game, originally scheduled for , has been postponed to due to the ongoing impact of the virus on the Finnish team.
Beyond the U.S.-Finland contest, Saturday’s Olympic action saw Sweden defeat Italy 6-1. Thea Johansson led the way for Sweden with two goals and an assist, while Hanna Olsson and Sara Hjalmarsson each contributed a goal and an assist. Ebba Svensson Traff made 18 saves for the shutout.
Germany also secured a victory, defeating Japan 5-2. Laura Kluge was instrumental in Germany’s win, scoring a goal and adding three assists. Nicola Hadraschek scored twice for the Germans, while Daria Gleissner opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game. Sandra Abstreiter stopped 20 shots in the German net.
In a separate contest, Canada defeated Switzerland 4-0. Sarah Fillier led the Canadian attack with a goal and an assist, while Natalie Spooner, Julia Gosling, and Daryl Watts also found the back of the net. Emerance Maschmeyer recorded the shutout for Canada, making 51 saves.
The U.S. Team will enjoy a day off on before facing Switzerland on . Finland will look to rebound against Czechia on . The results from Saturday’s games underscore the competitive landscape of the women’s Olympic hockey tournament, with several teams vying for medal contention.
