Day 5: Italy and USA Rookies Emerge

As the round-robin round starts wrapping up, teams like Italy are emerging, while the USA continues their dominance in a game of firsts. 

Starting off the day was Japan vs Italy. The hosts were looking to climb the Group B standings to get into a quarterfinal spot, while Japan looked to hold on to their spot. Italy struck first with Penn State freshman, Matilde Fantin getting back-to-back goals, to take a 2-0 lead. In the second Japan fought back scoring early to cut the Italians lead in half. In the third period it was Kristin Della Rovere scoring what would be the game winner for Italy. Della Rovere is currently a reserve player for the Toronto Sceptres, with her performance in the tournament expect to see her take the ice in the second half of the PWHL season. Wrapping up the game was Akane Shiga for Japan, but the late effort wouldn’t be enough to get past the hosts. 

Italy is back in action tomorrow against Germany. The player to watch for Italy is Penn State freshman Matilde Fantin, who now has three goals in the tournament. In her freshman campaign with the Nittany Lions she had 18 points, expect to see her impact continue throughout the tournament and when she returns to Penn State. 

Up next was Germany vs France. France continued to search for their first win while Germany looked to climb the Group B rankings. With a power-play late in the first Laura Kluge found her second goal and fifth point of the tournament. Both teams continued to push while the defensive efforts and goaltending were on full display. France continued to fight, finding the evening goal midway through the third period, sending the game to overtime. It didn’t take long for Germany to strike with Nina Jobst-Smith finding the game-winning goal with her second of the tournament. 

Germany is back in action tomorrow against Italy while both sides fight to secure their spot in the quarterfinals. If Japan loses in the early matchup both teams will have a spot and the game will decide the Group B seeding. The player to watch for Germany is Laura Kluge who has continued her impact through their first few games. Kluge currently plays for the Boston Fleet but has struggled to find the scoresheet in the first part of the season, before finding early success with Germany, with her momentum building expect to see it pour over to the second part of the Fleet’s season. 

Up next was Switzerland vs the USA. Switzerland was looking to bounce back from their loss against Canada yesterday, while the US looked to stay undefeated. Taking the lead early was Boston Fleet defender Haley Winn with her first Olympic goal. Extending the lead in the second period was Ohio State junior Joy Dunne. The USA continued their dominance into the third period starting with another first from Hannah Bilka, followed by Alex Carpenter with her third of the tournament. Rounding out the game was Wisconsin senior Caroline Harvey with her first Olympic goal. 

The USA is back in action tomorrow in a much anticipated matchup against Canada, this will be the teams first meeting since the US swept the Rivalry Series 4-0. The USA will look to enter the quarterfinals undefeated, while Canada looks to overtake the US for the top spot in Group A. The player to watch from the US is Minnesota Frost Captain Kendall Coyne-Schofield who is currently leading the PWHL in points. Coyne-Schoefield has got off to a quiet start despite the USA’s dominance, expect to see her have an impact against the USA rivals. 

Wrapping up the day was Canada vs Czechia. Both teams entered the game off big wins and were looking to carry the momentum forward. It was Kristen O’Neill of the New York Sirens that got things started for Canada with her first Olympic goal. Despite the lead Canada took a big hit midway through the first when Captain Marie-Philip Poulin left the bench following a big hit from Czechia. Her status for the remainder of the tournament is still unknown, firing up the Canadian team who then scored back-to-back goals including one from her wife, Laura Stacey. Wrapping up the first period was Julia Gosling from the Seattle Torrent, she followed it up with another 17 seconds into the second period to give Canada a 5-0 lead. Czechia continued to fight and got on the board courtesy of Montreal Victoire rookie, Natálie Mlýnková with her third of the tournament. 

Canada is back in action against the USA tomorrow. The player to watch from Canada is defender Sophie Jaques who is leading the Vancouver Goldeneyes in goals with four. She is known to make an impact on both ends, with a snipe shot from the blueline. This is her first Olympic appearance so it may have taken her some time to settle in, but expect to see her come alive against familiar competition.