2022 Winter Olympics – Page 2

The Americans didn’t have Brianna Decker in the lineup, but no matter. They skated their way to an impressive and one-sided 5-0 win over ROC to keep pace with Canada atop the Group A standings. The only reason the score didn’t reach double digits was the play of ROC goalie Maria Sorokina, who was nothing short of sensational.

The win was the third in a row at the Olympics against Russian-based teams for the U.S., who, oddly, had defeated Russia (2010) and OAR (2018) previously, both by shutouts, in their only other meetings. And to add to the trivia, today’s shutout was recorded by Nicole Hensley, who had to stop only 12 shots. She was also the goalie in that 2018 victory, also by a 5-0 score, in what was her only other Olympics game to date. In fact, ROC/OAR/Russia has yet to score a single goal against the Americans in Olympics play (the 2010 game ended 13-0).

The Americans are now 2-0 in the standings so far while ROC drops to 1-1 after a 5-2 win over the Swiss yesterday. They got goals from five players, while Sorokina and Daria Gredzen faced a combined 62 shots. Gredzen came into the game in the third period, and the 17-year-old, making her debut with the senior team, stopped all 14 saves to make for a memorable debut. Uniquely, both goalies are right catching.

Right from the opening puck drop it was clear the Americans were the superior team. Sorokina made an early and excellent save on captain Kendall Coyne Schofield who skated her way in on goal and made a nice deke, only to be stopped by the goalie. But the U.S. was relentless, and kept the puck in the ROC zone for extended periods, generating plenty of scoring chances.

It wasn’t until 12:29 that they finally scored. The goal came on a power play when Hilary Knight made a nice back pass across the crease to Savannah Harmon, who was stationed on the back side for the easy tap-in. It was her first goal in a Team USA sweater, having gone without one in her only previous appearance with the national team, that at last year’s Women’s Worlds.

ROC managed only two shots in the opening 20 minutes, but their best chance wasn’t one of those. Valeria Pavlova blocked a shot at her blue line and raced up the ice, but before she could let off a shot defender Cayla Barnes rushed back to take the puck away from her.

The second period was more of the same, although ROC did manage to create a bit more offence. Coyne Schofield was again stoned early on a deke, but Harmon was in the middle of the team’s second goal. This time her point shot was tipped in front by Knight, beating Sorokina up high at 8:51. Knight has now scored in all four Olympics appearances.

At the other end, Hensley was there when she needed to be. She made a nice left-pad save off a shot from the slot by Polina Luchnikova, and late in the period the U.S. got caught up ice, giving ROC a two-on-one. The nicely-executed play saw Viktoria Kulishova with a one-timer, but Hensley came across to make the save.

ROC started the third on a power play, but again Hensley was there when needed, and although ROC had some decent puck movement they also failed to convert a couple of other good chances. The Americans then made it 3-0 after ROC failed to clear the zone. Dani Cameranesi chased down the puck in the corner and fired a quick pass to the front where Grace Zumwinkle eluded her check and tipped the puck in at 3:57.

Two minutes later, Jesse Compher added another goal off the rush, using a defender as a screen and beating the right-catching Sorokina low to the stick side. And then, less than three minutes later, Sorokina stopped an Amanda Kessel slot shot only to see Alex Carpenter knock in the rebound.

Coach Yevgeni Bobariko mercifully made a goalie change, probably to give Sorokina a bit more rest in preparation for the team’s next game against Canada, so Gredzen skated into the blue ice and almost immediately had to make a sensational save on Knight. In all, she was perfect, but by then the game was well out of reach.

Source: iihf.com

Ni Lin (Rachel Llanes) scored the go-ahead goal with only 50.9 seconds left in regulation to give China a stunning but well-deserved 3-1 win over Denmark at Wukesong Sports Centre this afternoon. The goal came after Denmark captain Josefine Jakobsen fell along the boards in her end. Lin claimed the puck and beat goalie Cassandra Repstock-Romme with a little deke.

Qiqi Lin (Leah Lum) added an empty netter, her second goal of the game, to close out the scoring.

“It’s so hard to say how I feel, because we’ve had to wait such a long time,” said captain Baiwei Yu. “Our last win was in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver [she played]. I also feel so lucky that I’ve stayed on this team long enough to win again. We kept fighting together, and didn’t give up until the last minute, last second. We supported each other, trusted each other, and we did it!”

“Right now there’s no joy, no happiness,” said a disconsolate Repstock-Romme. “The only thing I can think about right now is disappointment. I tried to make every effort for the team because this is the best team ever in Denmark and we want to be together as a unit. I try to be there for them because they’re there for me, blocking shots and taking hits. I’m glad I could be there in some tough situations, but I don’t feel very good about the last goal, to be honest. That just overshadows everything else. I shouldn’t let in a goal with 50 seconds left.”

It was Denmark’s first ever Olympic game and China’s first win this Olympics on home ice after a 3-1 loss to Czechia yesterday.

No doubt this was a game both teams circled on their calendars as the one they most likely had a chance to win in the round robin of Group B, which also includes Japan, Czechia, and Sweden.

Denmark is right back at it with a game tomorrow afternoon against Japan, while China has two days off before playing that same Japanese team on Sunday afternoon.

China coach Brian Idalski dressed only 19 skaters and went with three lines virtually all night. He had defender Yuting Wang (Jessica Wong) out for more nearly half the game (28:10).

China started the game with energy and created several decent scoring chances early. Their aggressive play also earned them a power play, but they were unable to convert. The Danes withstood that early pressure and opened the scoring at 8:06.

Nicoline Jensen took the puck out of the corner and fired a shot on goal, but although goalie Jiaying Zhou (Kim Newell) made the save with her hugely popular, dragon-themed pads, she couldn’t control the rebound. Malene Frandsen was right there to bang home the loose puck, thereby putting her name in the history books as the first Dane, male or female, to score an Olympic goal.

“After the first shot, I became more relaxed and was able to focus more on the next one,” Zhou offered. “After that 1-0 goal, I just put the score out of my head and focused on the game and continued.”

The Chinese were not daunted, however, and played the Danes stride for stride, scoring chance for scoring chance. The game had nice flow up and down the ice, and it became clear pretty quickly that this Chinese team had some skill and ability in the offensive zone.

Indeed, the Chinese dominated the second period and were unlucky to score only one goal. Actually, it wasn’t a lack of luck so much as it was the sensational play of 20-year-old goalie Repstock-Romme. She stopped Qiqi Lin (Leah Lum) on a rebound from in close, and again moments later on another chance in close. She then made a great shoulder save off a sure goal from Lin, and she was solid when China went to the power play.

At the other end, Zhou made a fantastic save off Jakobsen to keep it a 1-0 game, but late in the period the Chinese were finally rewarded for their fine play. It all started with an offensive zone faceoff win by Le Mi (Hannah Miller), and a point shot from 33-year-old captain Baiwei Yu. Her shot was deftly tipped in front by Lin at 16:43, making it a 1-1 game.

Soon after, Mengying Zhang took a stretch pass and walked in alone, only to be denied by Repstock-Romme. The score was 1-1 after 40 minutes, but the Chinese had dominated puck possession and had outshot the Danes by an impressive 27-12 margin.

Both teams had chances in the third. Persson made a couple of fine rushes but couldn’t finish around Zhou’s goal, and Repstock-Romme’s solid play stymied two or three good China chances as well. But just when it looked like the game was headed to overtime, Jakobsen fell, Lin pounced, and history was made.

NOTES: Denmark’s Silke Glud was injured in the second period and didn’t return….There were six minor penalties called, three for an illegal hit…China has been short-handed six ties through two games but has yet to give up a power-play goal against.