SUMMARY OF THURSDAY’S PRELIMINARY ROUND
CANADA (5) USA FINLAND (0)
from Ottawa Emily Clark scored two goals in the third period and New York’s Kristin O’Neill had a goal and an assist to lead Canada to an impressive victory to secure second place in the Group A standings in the final match of the preliminary round. From Vancouver Jen Gardiner scored Toronto’s first Olympic goal of her career late in the opening stages, which was the match-winner Daryl Watts found the back of the net for the second time in the tournament to add insurance in the mid-frame. Six Canadians contributed assists, led by two each from Seattle Julia Gosling and that of Montreal Laura Staceyplus singles from Sarah Fillier (New York), Sophie Jacques (BY), Ella Shelton (Tower Blayre Turnbull (TOR). netminder win Ann-Renee Desbiens turned aside all 17 shots for her second win and first shutout of the tournament. Load Captain Brianne Jenner served as Canada’s captain for the second straight game with Marie-Philip Poulin van de Victoire sidelined with an injury. Charge rookie goaltender Sanni Ahola made 18 saves for Finland and Boston Susanna Tapani returned to action after missing Finland’s previous match with an injury. Both teams will play quarterfinals on Saturday, with Canada taking on Germany and Finland taking on Switzerland.
RECORDS AND MILESTONES
- Desbiens She equaled a Canadian Olympic record with her eighth career victory, joining Kim St-Pierre and Shannon Szabados, who are tied for third on the overall list. She also became the fifth Canadian goaltender to record two or more career shutouts, a teammate feat Emerance Maschmeyer (FROM) earlier in the tournament.
- Fillier became the 15th Canadian woman to reach 15 career Olympic points (10G, 5A).
- Stacey became the 22nd Canadian woman to reach 10 career Olympic points (5G, 5A).
- Gardiner (1G) and Jacques (1A) earned their first career Olympic points in their fourth career games.
- Michelle Karvinen (VAN/FIN) played her 28th career Olympic match today and will equal the all-time record of Switzerland’s Nicole Bullo on Saturday.
- PWHL players account for 16 of the top 32 scorers during the preliminary round.
PREVIEW OF FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINAL
10:40 ET: CZECH REPUBLIC (A3) VS. SWEDEN (B1)
Montreal rookie Natalia Mlýnková has scored three of the Czech Republic’s seven goals and leads the way with four points in four games, and a New York rookie Kristina Kaltounkova has a goal and an assist in her first Olympics. The Czech Republic leads all European countries with eight PWHL players and is in the hunt for their first Olympic medal after finishing seventh in 2022 and winning back-to-back bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 Women’s World Cup. Sweden put together a perfect preliminary in Group B, defeating opponents 18-2. The team is powered by four PWHL players, including Toronto’s Sara Hjalmarsson (2G, 3A) Montréal Lina Ljungblom (2G, 1A), New York Maja Nylen Persson (2A) and the sceptres’ Anna Kjellbin (1A) who acts as captain. Despite reaching the medal round in each of the last six Olympic tournaments, the Swedes have only won two medals, including bronze in 2002 and silver in 2006.
3:10 PM ET: UNITED STATES (A1) USA ITALY (B3)
The USA, with 16 PWHL players, advanced through the preliminary round and defeated their opponents 20-1. Seattle’s Hannah Bilka And Alex Timmerman leads the team with three goals each and captains Hilary Knight has five points, tying both the all-time U.S. Olympic goal score and points record. Between the pipes, those of Boston Aerin Frankel has recorded three wins with two shutouts. The Americans have medaled in all seven Olympic tournaments, winning gold in 1998 and 2018, and are the reigning world champions. Toronto’s Kristin Della Roverethe only PWHL player in Italy, has led the host nation to their first-ever quarterfinal appearance with a team-high four points. Italy has come a long way since hosting the 2006 Winter Olympics, when it was defeated 48-3 after five tournament losses.
SATURDAY’S QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
Saturday at 10:40 a.m. ET: Canada (A2) vs. Germany (B2)
Saturday at 3:10 PM ET: Finland (A4) vs. Switzerland (A5)
CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL SCHEDULE AND BROADCAST DETAILS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
JOCKS INTO JILLS
Next: Watch live Jocks in Jills after the first two quarter-finals conclude on Friday, as Tessa and Julia provide immediate analysis of the results of Czech Republic vs. Sweden and USA vs. Italy. They also look ahead to day two of the quarterfinals, with Canada taking on Germany and Finland taking on Switzerland on Saturday, February 14. Following the episode, the duo will travel to Milan to deliver on-site reporting and content from Milan. Watch the live reaction to the PWHL’s YouTube channel and follow Jocks in Jills on social media for full coverage.
In case you missed it: Prepare for the elimination round by catching up on all the live reaction shows from the preliminary round here.
February 13 – Quarterfinals Day 1 – Live Reaction Show at the end of the game
February 15 – Quarterfinal Reaction Episode
February 16–19 – Jocks in Jills Live from Milan
#PWHL #recap #Olympic #Games #February #Pro #Hockey #News