olympic hockey: U.S. women dominate Sweden, advance to gold-medal game vs. Canada
The U. S. women's hockey team steamrolled Sweden 5-0 in a one-sided Olympic semifinal in Milan, booking a Thursday 1: 10 p. m. ET date with Canada for the gold medal. Five different American scorers and netminder Aerin Frankel, who recorded a fifth straight shutout, underscored a tournament-long dominance that has left opponents scrambling for answers.
U. S. depth overwhelms Sweden in Santagiulia Arena
It took Sweden 11 minutes to register its first shot on goal, a surreal milestone for fans who had hoped for an upset. Instead, the American machine set the tone early. Cayla Barnes opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game with a wrist shot from above the right faceoff circle that beat Swedish goaltender Svensson Traff gloveside, and the floodgates never opened for the Europeans.
Five different U. S. players found the back of the net in Monday’s semifinal, a reflection of a roster built for balance and role clarity. The Americans have outscored opponents 31-1 in the tournament and have not allowed a goal in 16 straight periods of play, a streak that stretches 331 minutes and has become a defining storyline of these games. Frankel’s fifth consecutive shutout capped another clinical performance in goal, and the team’s structure made sustained pressure feel inevitable rather than episodic.
“We put on a show every time we’re out there because we love to play hockey, ” forward Taylor Heise said after the win, pointing to the cohesion and execution that have carried the team through Milan. Teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield emphasized the locker-room buy-in: players are embracing roles and doing what’s needed, night after night.
Sweden’s surprising run meets an insurmountable challenge
Sweden arrived in the medal rounds as the tournament’s scrappy story. Placed in Group B by the tournament format, the Swedes treated the grouping as motivation and dominated their opponents, winning all four group games by three-goal margins and then blanking a bronze-contending Czechia in the quarterfinals. Their resilience and cohesion had many projecting them to continue upsetting the established order.
But Monday in Santagiulia Arena was a reminder of the gulf that still exists between the elite North American teams and the rest. Sweden managed more perimeter shots than in the tournament’s opener but rarely threatened Frankel or the American defense in traffic. Swedish coach Ulf Lundberg quipped that perhaps a plexiglass would have helped keep his squad in the match, an understated appraisal of how thoroughly the U. S. controlled transitions, possession and scoring chances.
Gold on the line: a familiar North American showdown
Thursday’s gold-medal game at 1: 10 p. m. ET will pit the United States against Canada, a familiar rivalry that has defined the sport since women’s hockey entered the Olympics. Canada, the reigning champion, has also struggled to find an answer for the U. S. this week; earlier in the tournament the Americans blanked the Canadians 5-0 while Canada was missing injured captain Marie-Philip Poulin.
The rematch carries the weight of history and rivalry, but for the U. S. it also presents a chance to cap an almost relentless run of excellence with gold. The American bench has combined veteran poise with younger energy, and the statistical dominance through the preliminary rounds and knockout stage suggests the title game will be the final test of a team that has left very little room for doubt.
For Sweden, the semifinal exit does not erase a breakthrough tournament; it underlines the progress made and the distance still to travel to consistently challenge the sport's top two programs. For Milan, the semifinal delivered the kind of decisive performance that sets up a marquee final and keeps fans tuning in for what promises to be another high-stakes chapter in Olympic hockey.
