MILAN — Eleven minutes into their team’s semifinal clash against the juggernaut U.S. women’s hockey team, Swedish fans inside Santagiulia Arena roared with approval.
A goal? Sustained pressure? A power play? Nope. The Swedes had just finally registered their first shot on goal.
Sweden did manage to fire more pucks in the direction of the American net over the course of Monday’s lopsided semifinal, but the Swedes didn’t come any closer to challenging the U.S. than any other opponent in Milan has. Five different American players scored and goaltender Aerin Frankel recorded her team’s fifth consecutive shutout as the U.S. thrashed Sweden 5-0 to advance to Thursday’s gold-medal match against either Canada or Switzerland.
America’s neighbor to the north is the reigning Olympic champion, but not even they managed to put up much of a fight against the U.S. in group play. Playing without injured captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada fell meekly to the Americans 5-0. It was the first time Canada had been shutout during the Olympics before.
That game was indicative of how these Olympics have gone. The Americans have bulldozed to the gold-medal match by outscoring their opponents 31-1.
The only goal the U.S. has surrendered was a flukey one in its opening game of group play. Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova emerged from the penalty box at the exact same moment the U.S. coughed up possession of the puck, producing a breakaway opportunity that resulted in the lone blemish against the Americans’ record.
“I’ve been on a lot of teams throughout my career, but there’s something special about this one,” American forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “I think it’s ultimately how enjoyable it is to be in that locker room and how everyone is willing to do whatever it takes for this team, no matter what the role is.”
The Swedes were not expected to reach the women’s hockey medal round, but they arrived in Milan with a point to prove. In group-stage play, Olympic organizers placed the five highest-ranked teams in Group A and the remaining five teams in Group B. Sweden viewed its Group B status as an insult, believing that it belonged among the medal hopefuls.
Over its opening five games in Milan, Sweden won over any non-believers. It cruised through group play, winning all four games by three goals apiece. Then, it took advantage of its first crack at a higher-ranked opponent, shutting out bronze-medal contender Czechia in the quarterfinals.
And yet as impressive as the Swedes have been in Milan, their semifinal challenge against the U.S. was a different beast. Sweden was a 28-to-1 underdog to win the game outright, according to BetMGM. A Swedish victory would have been the women’s hockey equivalent of the New York Giants helmet-catching the New England Patriots or Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson.
It didn’t happen, and as expected the U.S. moves on to play for gold, which they last won in 2018.