Team USA and Canada each got off to a flying start in the first games of the Olympic hockey tournament.
The U.S. women opened up the Games with a 5-2 victory over Finland.
Amanda Kessel opened up the scoring with 9:23 to play in the first. Alex Carpenter then snuck one past Finnish netminder Anni Keisala to make it 2-0 for the U.S.
Kendall Coyne Schofield scored back-to-back goals in the second period to make it 4-0.
Alex Carpenter would net another in the third to make it 5-1. Finland’s Susanna Tapani then sent one home with 2:20 remaining in the game that was initially waved off. Video review deemed that the puck had gone in under the crossbar to give Finland their second goal of the game.
The two teams also had to return to the ice to play the remaining 2:20 in the game after the game was over. The result of the review could not be announced until the next stoppage of play, which was the “end” of the game. As a result, the clock had to be reset to the 2:20 mark.
Team USA was dealt a huge blow to their gold medal chances early on in the first period, however, as forward Brianna Decker suffered a tournament-ending injury.
Looking to avenge its 2018 loss to the US, Canada opened up the tournament with a 12-1 beating of Switzerland on Thursday. Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Fillier, Natalie Spooner and Laura Stacey each notched two goals each for Canada.
“We played well, but I think we can even play better, turning up the ice even quicker than we did today,” Spooner said. “Obviously not having played (since Dec. 17), we were just starting to get back into it, building on the lead and keep playing faster moving forward.”
Canada had 70 shots on goal to the Swiss’ 15. But they, too, suffered a blow when veteran forward Melodie Daoust exited the game and did not return midway through the second period. Her status for the next game is unknown.
The U.S. is back in action Saturday against Russia at 8:10 a.m. ET, while Canada plays Finland on Friday at 11:10 p.m. ET.
