By USA Hockey, 02/16/26, 1:45PM EST
MILAN – Led by five different goalscorers and a shutout from Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y./Boston Fleet), the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team punched its ticket to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games gold medal game with a 5-0 semifinal victory over Sweden at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
Team USA will play for gold Thursday (Feb. 19) against the winner of the Canada-Switzerland semifinal. Puck drop is slated for 7:10 p.m. CET (1:10 p.m. ET) at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The game will be broadcast on USA Network and streamed on Peacock.
“Today we got closer to our ultimate goal,” said John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.), head coach of the 2026 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team. “We stayed tenacious and it paid off, and seeing contributions from so many players is a testament to this team. Now, we focus back in and prepare for Thursday’s gold medal game.”
Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif./Seattle Torrent) tallied the game’s first goal at 5:09 of the opening period, ripping a shot from the top of the right circle past the glove of Swedish netminder Ebba Svensson Träff after a feed from Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost).
The U.S. outshot Sweden, 13-2, through the first period, establishing offensive-zone possession for most of the frame.
Team USA nearly doubled its lead at 3:28 of the middle stanza, but a shot following a rebound from Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Seattle Torrent) rang off the post.
Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn./Minnesota Frost) gave the U.S. a 2-0 advantage, firing a one-timer that found its way through Svensson Träff after a cross-ice pass from Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas/Seattle Torrent) at 9:09.
Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill./University of Minnesota) rifled a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle at a sharp angle over the shoulder of Svensson Träff at 15:12 to extend the U.S. lead to 3-0.
The U.S. struck again 58 seconds later, as Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill./Minnesota Frost) deflected a shot off the stick of Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/University of Wisconsin) home.
Hayley Scamurra (Buffalo, N.Y./Montreal Victoire) added a fifth U.S. goal at 17:59, poking the puck home after a cross-crease pass from Britta Curl-Salemme (Bismarck, N.D./Minnesota Frost).
Frankel was sharp in the second period, stopping all 13 shots she faced. She finished the game with 23 saves, recording her third shutout of the tournament, becoming the first goaltender in Olympic women’s hockey history to do so.
NOTES: Team USA outshot Sweden, 34-23 … The U.S. did not have a power play while Sweden went 0-3 on power plays … Team USA has outscored opponents, 31-1, through six games and has not conceded a goal in its last 331:23 minutes of play.
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