On the first day of the knockout rounds for the women’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the top-seeded USA shutout eighth-seed Italy at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, 6-0.
Jacquie Pierri, a Montclair, New Jersey native, former Brown University player and captain of the EV Bozen Eagles of the EWHL, skated on defense for Italy.
After a tight-checking first period, the Americans led only 1-0 on Boston Fleet defenseman Megan Keller’s one-time slap shot goal.
Italian goaltender Gabriella Francesca Durante made a spectacular save with the paddle of her goaltender’s stick to deny an American player right before the first period ended.
In the second period, momentum shifted into the USA’s favor, starting with Minnesota Frost forward Kendall Coyne-Schofield’s first goal of the game at 1:41 and her second at 3:51.
The Americans dealt the Italians another blow when defense woman Laila Edwards sniped a wrist shot past Durante, making it 4-0 at 5:17.
At 11:29, the Americans were killing a penalty. American forward Joy Dunne attacked the Italian net with speed, attempting a wrap-around. After Durante stopped that attempt, American and Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme wrapped the puck around the other side of the net and gave the USA a commanding 5-0 lead.
The final blow from the Americans came near the end of the second. This time, Seattle Torrent forward Hannah Bilka crashed the net and tipped in a perfect pass from Frost forward Taylor Heise. The goal was Bilka’s tournament-leading fourth goal.
Goaltender Gwyneth Philips earned the shutout– USA’s fourth straight of the tournament.
With the win, the Americans advanced to their seventh straight Olympic semifinals, where they await their next opponent, which could be Sweden or the winner of either Canada/Germany and Finland/Switzerland.
Sweden Shuts Out Czechia
In the other women’s ice hockey quarterfinal that took place on Friday, Sweden got past Czechia 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.
Hanna Olsson put the Swedes in front 1-0 with a goal 4:47 into the second period on an assist from New York Sirens defenseman Maja Nylen Persson.
Hilda Svensson added an empty net goal at 19:35 of the third period to seal it for the Swedes.
Czechia outshot Sweden 29-22, but Swedish goaltender Ebba Svensson Traff held down the fort for her second straight shutout in her fourth start of the Olympics.
Progress for Italy
These Olympics were a step forward for the Italian women’s ice hockey team. In their last appearance at the Olympics in 2006, they lost all three games they played and didn’t make it past the preliminary round.
Italy defeated France 4-1 and Japan 3-2 in the preliminary round of the 2026 games and won two out of five games.
Pierri and her Italian teammates will go home having won two games, the first wins at the Olympics for the Italian women’s hockey team in history.
Where do the Americans Stand?
On Friday, the Americans allowed the Italians just six shots on goal while putting 51 shots on net of their own and cruised to a 6-0 victory over the eighth-seed in the tournament.
But the Americans didn’t finish their chances in the first period.
Durante’s clutch paddle save was just one shot of 20 that the Americans had in the first period.
Sweden advanced with a much less impressive result on Friday, but don’t let that fool you. They are the only team other than the USA to go undefeated so far in the tournament through five games. A player to watch for on Sweden is Hanna Olsson, whose seven points rank third among all skaters at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, team USA’s most outstanding players have been young defensemen Caroline Harvey, who leads all skaters at the Olympics with nine points, and Laila Edwards, who is second on the team with six points (tied with Alex Carpenter). With such scoring depth, the Americans should be the favorites to win each game they play from here on out.
Saturday’s Action
- Canada vs Germany at 10:40 a.m. ET
- Finland vs Switzerland at 3:10 p.m. ET
Three New York Sirens players will play for Canada: forward Sarah Fillier #10, forward Kristin O’Neill #43, and goaltender Kayle Osborne #82. Meanwhile, New York Sirens defenseman Nicole Vallario will play for Switzerland and wear jersey No. 16.
Stick with ONNJ Sports for continuing coverage of ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics!
