MILAN – Caroline Harvey and Joy Dunn each had a goal and two assists, Gwyneth Phillips stopped 20 shots in her Olympic debut, and the United States defeated Switzerland 5-0 in the women’s hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games on Monday.
Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Haley Winn also scored, and the tournament favorites helped the Americans improve to 3-0 a day before concluding their Group A preliminary round schedule against border rival Canada. Captain Hilary Knight had two assists to increase her Olympic career points total to 31 – one short of tying the American record set by Jenny Potter.
Canada defeated Czechia 5–1 later in the evening, but the reigning Olympic champions’ captain Marie-Philip Poulin did not return after limping off in the first period. It’s unclear whether Poulin, nicknamed “Captain Clutch” for scoring three Olympic gold medal-winning goals, will be available to play Tuesday.
Phillips’ shutout was shared by Ava McNaughton, who blocked a shot as she entered the game with less than two minutes remaining. The U.S. has allowed just one goal in three games and posted consecutive shutouts following Erin Frankel’s 11-save outing in a 5-0 win over Finland on Saturday.
Switzerland fell to 1-2 for the second consecutive match after a 4-0 loss to Canada on Saturday. Andrea Brindley was quick in stopping 45 shots, including 35 of the first 37 she faced, before the Americans scored three times on six shots in the first 7:42 of the third period.
Winn opened the scoring at 6:04 by driving to the front of the net and redirecting Harvey’s centering pass. Dunn scored 5:52 into the second period by forcing a turnover behind the Swiss net and then banking in a shot over the skate of Switzerland defender Stephanie Wetley.
Phillips made several big saves despite facing only six shots in the first period. She kicked out her left skate just in time to stop a shot from Ivana Way in the opening minute. At about 12 and a half minutes, Phillips raised his glove to stop Rachel Enzler, who was standing at the door.
Host country Italy defeated Japan 3-2 on Monday and secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament for the first time.
Germany then secured their place in the next round with a 2–1 overtime win over France.
Italy and Germany both improved to 2-1 and made the quarterfinals along with Sweden (3-0) to complete the three nations of Group B. Japan and France dropped out of contention.
As hosts, Italy advanced to its second Olympic appearance, after going 0–4 at the 2006 Turin Games and finishing last in the eight-team field.
“I think it’s everyone’s dream come true,” said Italian, Canadian-born goalkeeper Gabriella Durante. “Hopefully this will grow hockey in Italy even more for little girls all over the country.”
Matilde Fantin scored the first two goals, giving Italy a 2–0 lead after the first period.
After Rui Ukita scored for Japan in the second period, Italy responded with Cristin Della Rovere scoring in the third period. Akane Shiga’s goal in the third period was confirmed after a lengthy video review, which checked that the puck had crossed the line, keeping Italy under pressure.
Italy’s players jumped off the bench at the buzzer to hug Durante, who made 27 saves.
“We had a lot of guys blocking shots and dumping the puck, just hard work that takes a toll on the body,” he said. “Everyone is willing to sacrifice for the family and to win like this is really an amazing feeling.”
Katharina Jobst-Smith scored for Germany 1:17 into overtime with a shot from the high slot just inside the left post. Laura Kluge also scored and Sandra Abstreiter stopped 13 shots.
Estelle Duvin scored 8:21 into the third period to force OT and Alice Filbert stopped 44 shots. France went 0–4 in its Olympic debut and fell by a combined margin of 13–4.
