There are two words that describe Team USA’s performance at Milan the best. Young and relentless.

The semifinal’s outcome was not a huge shocker, given the team’s run so far. Whatever hope Sweden had, that turned sour.

After beating Sweden 5-0, the USA women’s hockey team is up for their gold chase in the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Five different Americans scored in the game. Goaltender Aerin Frankel recorded the fifth consecutive game where the U.S. defense hadn’t allowed a goal from the opponents. Her 21 saves contributed largely to the win, as she secured her third shutout of the tournament.

Now, the Americans will be entering the gold-medal game by outscoring their opponents 31-1. The only time they have allowed a goal was in the opening game of group play. Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova had that one.

American forward Kendall Coyne Schofield called this match “special”, among all the other ones she played over her career.

“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”, she said.

Moving forward, Team USA will be facing either Canada or Switzerland for their gold-medal match. While Sweden will be competing for Bronze next, for the third time in the team’s history.

The Swedes Put Up a Good Game

Though the expectations were less from them, Team Sweden had a point to prove. They made it this far, despite being a Group B team and a 28-to-1 underdog to win the game. Their opening 5 games alone could shut down all the doubts.

In the quarterfinals, they played against a higher-ranked opponent, Czechia. And stunned the crowd at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena with a 2-0 shutdown performance. This victory marked the Sweden Women’s Hockey team’s first semifinal appearance since 2006.

However, for Team USA, it was a classic case of “been there, done that”. Ever since 1998, they have reached the semifinals all the time, except for 2006 when they lost to Sweden in overtime.

With that being said, do you think Team USA will be able to bring gold this year? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu