Olympic Hockey Results 2022: USA, Canada Cruise Through Quarterfinals
The United States and Canada continued their collision course toward the gold-medal game in women's hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Friday, while the preliminary round in men's hockey carried on as well.
Team USA came back from a 1-0 deficit in the women's quarterfinals to beat Czech Republic 4-1, and Canada crushed Sweden 11-0 to punch its ticket to the semifinals.
Four traditional powers were victorious on the men's side, with the Russian Olympic Committee, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland all picking up wins.
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Here are all of Friday's scores in Olympic men's and women's hockey, as well as a recap of each game.
Men's Preliminary Results
Russian Olympic Committee def. Denmark; 2-0
Czech Republic def. Switzerland; 2-1
Sweden def. Slovakia; 4-1
Finland def. Latvia; 3-1
Women's Quarterfinal Results
United States def. Czech Republic; 4-1
Canada def. Sweden; 11-0
Men's Preliminary Recap
Russian Olympic Committee 2, Denmark 0
The Russian Olympic Committee hasn't been as dominant as expected at the Olympics thus far, but it improved to a 2-0 record in the men's preliminary round with a 2-0 win over upstart Denmark on Friday.
Since no NHL players are competing in the Olympics for the second Winter Games in a row, ROC entered as the favorites, as they are stacked with KHL players and won gold four years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
ROC followed up a 1-0 win over Switzerland in its opener with a 2-0 win Friday, giving it two consecutive shutouts to start the tournament.
While the scoring has been there for Russia, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov has been a stud in goal, stopping all 49 of the shots he has faced:
Pavel Karnaukhov's second-period goal was the only one ROC needed since Denmark couldn't solve Fedotov, although Kirill Semyonov did add an empty netter for good measure.
Although it fell just short, Denmark impressed again considering it is making its Olympic debut in men's hockey.
The Danes still have a chance to do some damage in the tournament, as they are 1-1 after beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in their opener.
Czech Republic 2, Switzerland 1
After a hugely disappointing loss to Denmark to start the Olympics, the Czech Republic got back on track Friday, edging out Switzerland 2-1 in a shootout.
The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation, as Jiri Smejkal scored for the Czechs in the first period, and Switzerland's Gaetan Haas answered about four minutes later.
After neither team managed to score in overtime, the game went to a shootout, and a former NHL star came through for the Czech Republic.
Simon Hrubec stopped all five of Switzerland's shootout attempts, while longtime Boston Bruins center and one-time Stanley Cup champion David Krejci was the only goal scorer for the Czechs.
Krejci, who is now playing professionally in his native Czech Republic, prevented the Czechs from falling to a devastating 0-2 start to the tournament, while Switzerland has now lost each of its first two games.
Sweden 4, Slovakia 1
Sweden jumped out to a fast start and never looked back, as it beat Slovakia 4-1 and improved to 2-0 in preliminary round play.
The Swedes scored three goals in the opening period, beating goalie Matej Tomek each time. Joakim Nordstrom opened the scoring, followed by Lucas Wallmark.
The true backbreaker for Slovakia came in the waning seconds of the second period, though, when Max Friberg scored with just five seconds remaining in the period to make it 3-0.
Carl Klingberg extended the lead to 4-0 in the third period, and while 2022 NHL draft prospect Juraj Slafkovsky got Slovakia on the board with less than two minutes left in the game, the damage had already been done.
The Slafkovsky goal spoiled a remarkable performance by Swedish goalie Magnus Hellberg, who stopped 40 of Slovakia's 41 shots on goal.
Slovakia actually managed to outshoot Sweden 41-29, but the Slovaks fell to 0-2 on the tournament, and Sweden set the stage for an undefeated clash with rival Finland to close out the preliminary round.
Finland 3, Latvia 1
Latvia hung tough with a hockey power for the second game in a row, but it was unable to pull off the upset against Finland.
After a narrow 3-2 loss to Sweden in its opener, Latvia fell 3-1 to Finland in a game that was tied at 1-1 deep into the third period.
Given how gritty Latvia was against Finland and Sweden, Steven Ellis of The Hockey News suggested the team could still be a tough out in the knockout stage even after starting 0-2:
Following a second-period goal by Finland's Valtteri Kemilainen to make it 1-0, Latvia answered three minutes into the third with a goal from Rodrigo Abols.
The game seemed destined for overtime, but Finland finally broke the deadlock with about five minutes remaining when former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Leo Komarov found the back of the net.
Marko Anttila then scored the insurance goal with just over a minute left to seal the deal for Finland.
Sweden and Finland were considered the co-favorites in Group C entering the tournament, and they will now do battle to determine the group winner as expected.
Women's Quarterfinal Recap
United States 4, Czech Republic 1
Team USA entered its quarterfinal matchup with the Czech Republic as a heavy favorite, but it wasn't until the third period that the Americans took their first lead of the game.
The Czechs didn't have a single shot on goal in the entire first period, but they shocked the Americans on their second shot of the game in the second period when Michaela Pejzlova put a rebound past Team USA goaltender Alex Cavallini.
That created some nervous moments for the United States, but the equalizer was scored just 48 seconds later by Hilary Knight:
Despite being expected to win in blowout fashion, Team USA entered the third period tied 1-1 and didn't pull ahead until there was 13:11 remaining in regulation, which is when Lee Stecklein put the Americans up for good:
Savannah Harmon and Kendall Coyne Schofield netted insurance markers later in the period, making the final score 4-1.
Team USA dominated the game with 59 shots to just six for the Czechs, but they once again struggled to find the back of the net, which was an issue in their 4-2 loss to Canada in the preliminary round.
The United States outshot Canada 53-27 in that game and still lost, but all signs point to them clashing again for the gold medal.
Canada 11, Sweden 0
While the Americans needed a come-from-behind effort to beat the Czechs in the quarters, there was never any doubt about Canada's spot in the semifinals.
Canada took the play to the Swedes from start to finish, outshooting them 56-11 and firmly establishing themselves as the gold-medal favorites in the process.
Team Canada needed only three minutes and five seconds to get on the board first thanks to a goal from Brianne Jenner:
Canada then scored three more in the final three minutes of the first period, including Jamie Lee Rattray's goal with 25 seconds remaining to make it 4-0 after one:
The rest of the game was essentially child's play for Canada, as it continued to pour on the pressure and goals, chasing goaltender Emma Soderberg from the game after two periods and nine goals allowed.
Ten players finished with two or more points for Canada, including Jenner and Sarah Fillier, who each scored a hat trick. Canada got four assists each out of Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse as well.
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