Three Takeaways From U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Win vs. Czechia in Olympic Opener

Hilary Knight scored a goal for Team USA at the Milan Cortina Olympics. | Federico Manoni/NurPhoto via Getty Images

After a bit of a slow start in the opening period of the Milan Cortina Olympics, the U.S. women’s ice hockey team began to look the part of the favorites once they got their first power play. Alex Carpenter opened the scoring for the Americans, redirecting a shot from Megan Keller past goaltender Klara Peslarova and into the back of the net. From there, it was all Team USA, who lived up to their billing as top dogs in the tournament.

With the first game of the Olympics officially behind them, the U.S. will look ahead to its upcoming matchups. They’re slated to play again Saturday against Finland, Monday against Switzerland and Tuesday in a coveted showdown against Canada.

Before looking ahead, however, let’s look at some key takeaways from the team’s first game at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Once the rust came off, the U.S. looked dominant

It was a sluggish start for the U.S., who were held off the scoresheet for most of the first period until getting a goal on their first power play. Once the rust came off and the players settled into the rhythm of the game, the team’s true colors came out, and they turned in a mostly dominant display. It’s understandable that there were some nerves ahead of the first game. After all, this is the biggest stage in the world, and there’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to live up to expectations as one of the tournament’s favorites.

Once they got going, though, it was clear who the superior side was. The United States out-shot Czechia 42–14 in the game, never allowing their opponents to get established in the attacking zone. Czechia’s scoring opportunities were few and far between, as the U.S. ran away with the game in the second period.

Team USA needs to clean up the mistakes

The United States didn’t surrender a lot of shots against Czechia, but the opportunities they did allow were great scoring chances, often caused by a mistake on the side of the Americans. The first Czechia goal came right at the end of a U.S. power play, during which Barbora Jurickova came out of the penalty box and found herself wide open on a breakaway thanks to a turnover from the United States. It wasn’t the first time in the game a Czechia forward benefitted from a mistake and found themselves 1-on-1 with the goalie, and it wasn’t the last.

If the U.S. wants to take home the gold medal, they need to clean things up. Giving up breakaway goal-scoring opportunities against some of the other top teams in the Olympics––namely Canada, is a recipe for disaster, regardless of how potent the U.S. offense is.

The U.S. has incredible talent on all of its lines

Haley Scamurra may not have been on the ice that much, but she made the most of her opportunities on Thursday. The fourth-line forward scored two goals, and had only been on the ice a total of five minutes when she netted her second of the game. That type of efficiency and offensive prowess on the bottom line simply isn’t something most other teams can rely upon.

The U.S. is loaded with talent, and even their fourth-liners are making big contributions when given an opportunity. There’s never a group on the ice that isn’t capable of making things happen, whether it’s the superstars on the top line such as captain Hilary Knight, or some of the younger, less experienced players further down the depth chart, like Ohio State standout Joy Dunne, who scored the team’s second goal of the game.

Thursday’s game was an excellent start for Team USA, but there’s plenty more work to be done as they vie to win a gold medal.

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