Skip to content USA women’s hockey launched an astonishing 85 shots on goal Friday night, tearing through host nation Denmark 14-0 in the most one-sided quarter-final in tournament history. The relentless barrage broke a 29-year-old world championship record, sending the defending champions into the semi-finals with terrifying momentum. If you stepped away from the screen for just ten minutes at the opening puck drop, you missed the contest entirely.
Taylor Fox needed only 57 seconds to find the net, skating into the slot to put the Americans ahead. That spark ignited an immediate inferno. The United States stormed into a 5-0 lead inside eight minutes, turning their first-ever meeting against Denmark into an all-out shooting drill.
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By the second intermission, the scoreboard showed 10-0. The gap between the reigning champions and the tournament hosts was vast, and the Americans refused to lift their foot off the gas.
USA women’s hockey shatters tournament record
The headline number was the sheer volume of rubber fired at the Danish net. The Americans finished with 85 shots on goal, establishing a new single-game record at the women’s ice hockey world championship. That tally surpassed the previous high mark of 82 shots, set by the United States against Sweden back in 1997.
Danish starting goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordstrom faced an impossible assignment before being pulled ahead of the third period. Nordstrom stopped 51 shots under constant assault, yet still conceded ten times. Caroline Bjergstad stepped into the crease for the final period and made 20 saves of her own.
At the opposite end of the ice, Gwyneth Philips experienced the quietest evening of her international career. Philips stopped all eight shots she faced to bank a trouble-free shutout.
How USA women’s hockey dismantled Denmark
Fox paced the rout from the opening shift, finishing with a goal and three assists for four points. Caroline Harvey and Haley Winn controlled the game from the back, each posting two goals and three assists in five-point masterclasses. Kelly Pannek added two goals and two assists of her own, keeping the pressure constant across all four lines.
Hannah Bilka collected a goal and two assists, while Casey O’Brien, Grace Zumwinkle, Laila Edwards and Hayley Scamurra each scored and set up another. Alex Carpenter and Jesse Compher also hit the scoresheet as ten different American skaters found the net.
Can any defensive scheme slow down this attack right now? USA women’s hockey has shown that its depth is running at full throttle heading into medal contention.
Canada survives Czech scare in five-goal thriller
While the Americans romped through their quarter-final, arch-rival Canada had to sweat out every second of a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic in Herning. Sarah Fillier broke the deadlock 1:29 into the second period, pouncing on a rebound to score for her third consecutive game. Fillier had missed Canada’s first two preliminary-round matches with an upper-body injury, but she now leads her country with 23 goals and 38 points across 38 world championship games.
Rebecca Leslie doubled Canada’s advantage on a power play less than three minutes later. Then Kristýna Kaltounková, the top pick in last year’s PWHL draft, dragged the Czechs back into the contest. Kaltounková struck on a power play, giving the Czech Republic more than one goal against Canada for the first time in six meetings across all competitions.
Renata Fast restored Canada’s two-goal cushion with 3:13 left in the middle period. Kaltounková struck again in the third period to set up a frantic finish. The Czechs pulled netminder Klára Peslarová with 42 seconds remaining, even with Kaltounková sitting in the penalty box, but Canadian goaltender Eve Gascon held firm on 14 saves.
Sweden and Finland round out the semi-finals
Canada’s narrow escape books a semi-final clash with Sweden, who ground out a tense 1-0 win against Switzerland in Esbjerg. Sara Hjalmarsson scored the only goal of that encounter to send the Swedes into the final four. Meanwhile, Finland eased through with a 6-0 shutout against Germany behind a goal and two assists from Petra Nieminen.
Earlier on Friday, Austria secured their top-division survival in dramatic fashion. Anna Meixner scored both goals, including an overtime winner, to lift Austria past Japan 2-1 in their relegation playoff. It was a historic survival for the Austrians, who are playing in the top tier for the first time.
The stage is now set for Saturday’s semi-finals, where USA women’s hockey takes center stage once again with an eye firmly on defending their world title.
Source: Guardian Sport
