2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey: Top standouts from Czechia vs. Finland
After an upset shootout loss to Switzerland, Czechia bounced back with a 2-0 win over Finland on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The Czechs wasted no time, with Swedish League standout Tereza Pistekova scoring less than three minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Despite the Finns generating chances of their own, outshooting Czechia 11-7 in the opening frame, Natalie Mlynkova scored her second of the tournament just before the end of the opening frame to make it 2-0.
Czech goaltender Klara Peslarova stopped 25 shots to earn the shootout victory. Finnish head coach Tero Lehtera gave Anni Keisala the start in net, with Sanni Ahola not dressing after facing 49 shots against the United States on Saturday.
The Finns were shutout for the second consecutive game after dropping a 5-0 effort to the United States on Saturday. Each team had three power-play opportunities but didn’t capitalize. Finland came close to scoring late in the third after Czechia’s Andrea Trnkova took a goaltender interference penalty, but Peslarova held on to protect the lead.
Czechia (1-0-1) gets right back to it on Monday when they face Canada, while Finland (0-2-0) plays Switzerland on Monday.
Czechia
Klara Peslarova, G
There were several instances in the first period where Finland could have tied it, but Peslarova held firm, stopping all 11 shots in the opening frame and a total of 25 to earn a shutout. After playing a handful of games with the Boston Fleet last season, Peslarova has a .913 save percentage and a goals against average under two with Brynas IF in Sweden.
Natalie Mlynkova, F
Mlynkova was all over the ice, scoring the second goal of the game but generating six total shots on net in 18:35 of ice time. Now with two goals in the tournament, the Montreal Victoire forward will need to carry that momentum into Czechia’s Monday contest against Canada.
Finland
Elisa Holopainen, F
Elisa Holopainen, the SDHL’s 2024-25 MVP, gave Finland some of their best chances on Sunday, finishing with five shots in just under 18 minutes of ice time. If the Finns want to give themselves a chance for a favorable quarter-finals matchup, she’ll need to get on the scoresheet Monday against Switzerland.