Team USA women’s hockey powers past Finland at Milan Cortina Games, ties Olympic record

The American women's hockey squad improved to 2-0 astatine the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics connected Saturday.

Team USA skipper Hilary Knight scored successful a 2nd consecutive game, tying the U.S. Olympic grounds successful the Americans’ 5-0 rout of Finland. Her 14 vocation Winter Olympic goals lucifer totals acceptable by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.

The Americans wore down an illness-hit Finland squad, extending Finland’s winless Olympic grounds against the U.S. to 0-11. Vice President JD Vance and his household attended and cheered connected the tournament-favorite Americans.

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United States players observe aft defeating Finland successful women's crystal hockey Group A play during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games astatine Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena connected Feb. 7, 2026 successful Milan, Italy. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)

Team USA defender Megan Keller had a extremity and 2 assists, portion Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy besides scored. Aerin Frankel stopped 11 shots for her archetypal shutout successful conscionable her 2nd vocation Olympic game.

The Finns returned to the crystal arsenic a afloat squad for the archetypal clip since past being unneurotic astatine signifier connected Tuesday. That night, 4 players developed symptoms of norovirus. Two days later, Finland’s 23-player roster was down to 8 forwards and 2 goalies, prompting Olympic officials to postpone the team’s tourney opener against Canada to Feb. 12.

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On Friday, manager Tero Lehtara vowed his squad would play the Americans adjacent if it meant having a minimum of 5 forwards and a goalie. After canceling their greeting skate Saturday, the Finns took the crystal six hours aboriginal with a afloat 22-player contingent.

United States players observe defeating Finland successful women's crystal hockey Group A play during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games astatine Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena connected Feb. 7, 2026 successful Milan, Italy. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)

Goalie Sanni Ahola stopped 44 shots wide and kept the Finns successful the crippled done a archetypal play successful which she stopped 14 of 15 shots. Carpenter was the lone 1 who bushed her, scoring with a one-timer from the slot connected a power-play extremity with conscionable nether 5 minutes near successful the period.

Vance was seated adjacent to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul astatine the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

Vance and his household entered during the intermission astatine the extremity of the archetypal period, with the U.S. starring 1-0. Paul joined them soon after. Paul’s fiancée, Jutta Leerdam, is simply a speedskater and is competing for her autochthonal Netherlands astatine the Winter Games.

U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance, wore a sweatshirt with "USA" successful large letters.

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Among those besides seated adjacent Vance were 2010 Olympic fig skating golden medalist Evan Lysacek and hockey’s duplicate sisters, Hall of Famers Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando. They were members of the U.S. golden medal-winning squad astatine the 2018 Winter Games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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