USA Women’s Hockey Dominates Sweden in Olympic Semifinal, Advances to Gold Medal Game

MILAN, Italy – The U.S. Women’s national hockey team continued its dominant run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, defeating Sweden 5-0 in the semifinal matchup held at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Monday, February 16th. This victory propels Team USA into the gold medal game, where they will face either Canada or Switzerland on Thursday.

Dominant Performance from Start to Finish

Team USA, entering the semifinal with a perfect 5-0 record in the tournament, showcased its offensive prowess, leading 5-0 through two periods. The Americans have been the most potent offensive team in the competition, leading all teams in goals (26) and shots on goal (225) even as conceding only one goal throughout the entire tournament (USA Today).

Scoring Summary

The scoring began with Cayla Barnes at 5:09 of the first period. Taylor Heise extended the lead in the second period, followed by goals from Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne, and Hayley Scamurra. Scamurra’s goal at 37:59 further solidified the American dominance (USA Today).

Goalkeeping Change for Sweden

Facing a significant deficit, Sweden replaced goalkeeper Ebba Svensson Träff with Emma Soderberg at the 36:10 mark. However, Soderberg conceded a goal less than two minutes later (USA Today).

Statistical Overview

After two periods, the U.S. Outshot Sweden 25 to 15, demonstrating their control of the game (Yahoo Sports).

Looking Ahead

The winner of the USA-Sweden game will advance to play the winner of the Canada-Switzerland semifinal in the gold medal match on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET. The losing team will compete for the bronze medal on Thursday at 8:20 a.m. ET (USA Today). Team USA continues its pursuit of its first Olympic gold medal since 2018.

Hilary Knight’s Historic Performance

While not a factor in this particular game, Hilary Knight continues to be a key player for Team USA. She recently tied the Olympic record for the most goals in women’s hockey history, with 14, equaling the marks set by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King (Yahoo Sports).