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Feb 17, 2026
Claire Watkins
USA Hockey is officially going for gold after routing Sweden 5-0 in their Olympic semifinal on Monday, securing a gold medal rematch with rival Canada — the pair’s seventh Winter Games championship clash.
Cayla Barnes opened scoring for the USA in the first period, before Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Hayley Scamurra all piled on with tallies of their own.
“Maybe we needed a plexiglass in front of our net to stay in the game,” Sweden head coach Ulf Lundberg said afterwards.
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The undefeated US shattered the Olympic record for total minutes without conceding a goal in Monday’s win — now sitting at 331 minutes and 23 seconds and counting — by keeping a clean sheet since the 29th minute of their February 5th Olympic group-stage opener against Czechia.
The USA has now outscored opponents 31-1 in Milan, pitching shutouts for 16 straight periods — including Friday’s 6-0 quarterfinal drubbing of Italy.
US star and tournament leader Aerin Frankel also made individual history in Monday’s win, becoming the first-ever women’s hockey goaltender to post three shutouts in a single Olympic competition — a record the PWHL pro could extend to four with a clean sheet in the gold-medal game.
“I’ve been on a lot of teams throughout my career, but there’s something special about this one,” Coyne Schofield said about the USA’s dominance in Italy this month. “I think it’s ultimately how enjoyable it is to be in that locker room and how everyone is willing to do whatever it takes for this team, no matter what the role is.”
The only two teams to ever claim Olympic hockey gold will try to do so again on Thursday, when Team USA takes the ice against rival Canada in the 2026 Winter Games’ final.
The puck drops on the gold-medal game at 1:10 PM ET, airing live on USA Network.
keep reading
Team USA Takes on Italy in Olympic Women's Hockey Quarterfinal
February 13 – Meredith Heil
USA Hockey Makes Winter Olympics History with 5-0 Win Over Rival Canada
February 11 – JWS Staff
USA Hockey Opens 2026 Winter Olympics with 5-1 Rout of Czechia
February 6 – Claire Watkins
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