A devastating attacking display from Team USA secured the Americans’ biggest victory at these Games to date. After blasting five unanswered goals in the first period, this was a case of ‘how many?’ for the defending champion as Switzerland struggled to come up with any answers to the speed and accuracy of the U.S. forwards.

There were two goals apiece for Hilary Knight, Jesse Compher and Kelly Pannek, with Amanda Kessel and Dani Cameranesi also on the scoresheet in an emphatic 8-0 victory.

Both teams handed first starts to their goalies today. For Team USA, Alex Cavallini got the nod. The 30-year-old was on the golden roster in PyeongChang but did not play in the 2018 Games. Today she made her Olympic debut, following Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley onto the ice in Beijing. Switzerland, meanwhile, rotated Andrea Brandli out of the firing line after allowing 17 goals in the first two games. Saskia Maurer, a 20-year-old who plays for University of St. Thomas in the NCAA, stepped in for her first taste of Olympic action – and endured a baptism of fire at the hands of a rampant American offence.

The first power play of the game saw Knight open the scoring. Her net drive saw Maurer block the initial shot but the rebound went back to the experienced forward, who switched from backhand to forehand before finding the top shelf. The pressure on the Swiss net was constant and by the end of the first period the floodgates were open. On 14:04, Compher potted her second goal in two days, rifling home a one-timer from between the hash marks. Nine seconds later Knight got her second of the game, catching Maurer unawares with an instinctive snipe from out on the left-hand boards.

And the goals kept coming. Team USA was circling the Swiss zone at will and Pannek stepped in from the right-hand boards to shoot home before the dot. Late in the frame, another power play saw Kessel squeeze the puck past Maurer from a tight angle.

After facing 22 shots in that opening frame, Maurer was retired from the game and Brandli returned to action in the second period. Initially, this offered little change in the game, with Pannek grabbing her second of the night just two minutes into the session. However, Switzerland began to put some obstacles in the way of the American offence and even created a good chance of its own. Lara Stadler, the Swiss attacking spark so far in Beijing, released Phoebe Staenz with a long pass. Staenz executed a neat interchange with Alina Muller but her shot found Cavallini’s pads. There was a further opportunity for Switzerland when Abby Roque took a penalty – a call that drew vehement protests from the American forward – but the PK was resolute.

At the other end, though, Brandli was performing wonders to keep the scoreline down. She stopped 22 shots in the middle session but had no answer when Compher decided to go it alone late in the frame to add a seventh.

Knight was close to a hat-trick early in the third after strong play from Kendall Coyne Schofield, but Brandli’s pad denied the U.S. alternate captain on that occasion. The Swiss goalie continued to impress in the closing stages, notably with a triple save to deny Abbey Murphy, but even she had no answer when Pannek’s pass picked out Cameranesi all alone in front of the net to complete the scoring late on.

Switzerland will look to find positives in the way it slowed the American scoring late in the game. The next action for Colin Muller’s team is against Finland in its final group game. For Team USA, meanwhile, the next game renews its rivalry with Team Canada in a clash that will decide the battle for top spot in Group A.

Source: iihf.com