The U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team opened the 2022 Winter Olympic Games with a 5-2 victory against Finland at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing, China.
Kendall Coyne Schofield (Northeastern) and Alex Carpenter (Boston College) each posted two goals for the Americans to pace the offense.
“I thought we played well,” said Team USA coach Joel Johnson (St. Thomas) in a statement. “It’s always hard in the first game of any tournament, let alone the Olympics, but I was really impressed by our players. I give them a ton of credit. That second period was outstanding, and I thought we really controlled the game from that point on.”
Amanda Kessel (Minnesota) also scored for the United States, who outshot Finland 52-12. Coyne Schofield was named player of the game.
Maddie Rooney (Minnesota Duluth) made 10 saves in goal for the win.
The U.S. continues preliminary round play on Saturday, Feb. 5 against the Russian Olympic Committee. Puck drop is set for 9:10 p.m. local time, 8:10 a.m. ET at the Wukesong Sports Center.
Team USA forward Brianna Decker (Wisconsin) suffered a leg injury in the game and reports out of Beijing say she will miss the rest of the Olympics.
