United States’ Cayla Barnes (3) celebrates after scoring a objective towards Finland throughout a ladies’s semifinal hockey recreation on the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photograph/Petr David Josek)
By JOHN WAWROW
BEIJING (AP) — Hilary Knight had a objective and help, Alex Cavallini stopped 25 pictures, and the defending Olympic champion United States defeated Finland 4-1 within the ladies’s hockey semifinals on the Beijing Video games on Monday to arrange the sixth gold-medal showdown between the People and Canada.
The cross-border rivals will play on Thursday after Canada erupted for 5 first-period objectives over an Olympic file span of three:24 in a 10-3 win over Switzerland earlier within the day. The 2 world powers have performed for the championship in each Olympic event however the 2006 Turin Video games, when Canada defeated Sweden after the Swedes eradicated the People within the semifinals.
This time, the U.S. is trying to defend its title following a 3-2 shootout win on the 2018 Pyeongchang Video games, which ended Canada’s Olympic run of 4 championships.
Cayla Barnes had a objective and help, whereas Hayley Scamurra and Abby Roque, with an empty-netter, additionally scored for the People.
Barnes opened the scoring 3:39 into the second interval by pinching in from the correct level to transform Hannah Brandt’s go via the crease for a power-play objective. The tripping known as towards Finland’s Tanja Niskanen was questionable after it appeared the U.S. participant fell on her personal.
Knight, taking part in in her U.S. ladies’s staff record-tying twenty first Olympic recreation, scored with 1:07 remaining within the second interval. Savannah Harmon’s preliminary shot was blocked and Knight received to the unfastened puck to the left of the web and snapped it in for her eleventh profession Olympic objective to tie Jenny Potter for third on the USA record.
Cavallini was sharp in her third begin of the event, and misplaced her shutout bid on Susanna Tapani’s objective with 26 seconds remaining. Her finest saves got here within the last minute of the opening interval when she received her left pad out to cease Michelle Karvinen after which received her glove as much as bat away Karvinen trying to transform the rebound on a two-on-one rush.
Anni Keisala stopped 38 pictures for Finland.
Finland will face Switzerland within the bronze-medal recreation on Wednesday in a repeat of the identical matchups from the world championship event in August, when Canada beat the U.S. 3-2 in extra time of the championship recreation. Finland gained bronze with a 3-1 win over the Swiss.
Canada is taken into account the favourite in Beijing with a 6-0 file, together with a 4-2 win over the U.S. within the preliminary spherical finale final week.
Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored two objectives towards the Swiss, mentioned it made no distinction who her staff faces within the last.
“We labored for these moments. We’ve been working for 4 years,” Poulin mentioned. “I believe we deserve it.”
Canadian participant Sarah Nurse, nonetheless, was trying ahead to renewing the rivalry another time.
“Clearly, taking part in the U.S. it’s all the time an thrilling recreation, all the time an thrilling rivalry,” mentioned Nurse, who had 4 assists. “Our greatest focus is we get to play one other recreation on the Olympics. We got here right here to play seven video games. We wished the final one to be the gold-medal recreation.”
The opponent won't matter given how Canada has been the event’s most dominating staff by elevating the bar in how the ladies’s recreation is performed with a four-line deep, relentlessly attacking type of offense.
Claire Thompson had a objective and two assists as Canada improved to 6-0 and has out-scored its opponents by a mixed margin of 54-8 to set a single Olympic event file for many objectives. The earlier mark of 48 objectives by Canada on the 2010 Vancouver Video games got here in solely 5 video games.
“I believe we’re taking the sport to new heights proper now,” Nurse mentioned. “We’re taking part in a method of hockey that’s by no means been seen in our event earlier than. And so, in 5-10 years, different nations are going to be taking part in our type of play, and we’re going to maintain pushing the envelope and maintain making our sport higher.”
The 5 objectives scored in beneath 3 1/2 minutes broke the earlier file set by the Canadians in 2010, after they scored 5 occasions in a 4:03 span in a 13-1 win over Sweden.
The barrage left Switzerland coach Colin Muller awestruck in how rapidly issues unraveled.
“We simply had a blackout for 4 minutes,” he mentioned. “You possibly can’t give them that momentum as a result of they’re similar to sharks after they odor blood. And after they they style it, they’re going.”
The one comfort is how his staff didn’t let down because it did throughout a 12-1 loss to Canada within the event opener. Lara Stalder and Alina Muller reduce the result in 5-2 earlier than Poulin and Emily Clark responded by scoring 11 seconds aside to place Canada up 7-2 on the 8:03 mark of the interval.
In contrast to the high-scoring Canadians, the U.S. has struggled with ending probabilities whereas additionally taking part in with out top-line middle Brianna Decker, who broke her leg in a tournament-opening 5-2 win over Finland.
The struggles continued Monday following a scoreless first interval wherein the People had a 12-6 edge in pictures. Keisala received her proper pad out to make a spread-eagled cease on Amanda Kessel driving in on a breakaway, whereas Kelly Pannek was stopped making an attempt to jam in a unfastened puck from atop the crease.
The People outshot the Finns 42-26.
The People entered the day fifth amongst 10 groups in scoring effectivity with 24 objectives on a tournament-leading 292 pictures. Their energy play ranked fourth in changing 5 of 24 alternatives.
NOTES: Canada F Melodie Daoust had an help in her first recreation since sustaining an higher physique harm within the tournament-opener towards Switzerland. … Nurse now has 16 factors (4 objectives, 12 assists), that are the second-most in a single Olympic event. The file of 17 factors was set by Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser, who did so in 5 video games in 2006. … Switzerland turned the fourth opponent to attain three or extra objectives in regulation towards Canada in Olympic competitors, and first because the Canadians’ 7-3 win over Finland on the 2002 Salt Lake Metropolis Video games.