2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey: Top standouts from USA vs. Sweden semifinal game
The red, white and blue will be playing for gold once again.
Thanks to a convincing 5-0 win over Sweden on Monday, the United States has advanced to the gold medal game of the women’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Sweden was a heavy underdog heading into this one. The team playing in the Winter Games semifinals for the first time since 2014 appeared outmatched. They played the part early on, focusing on defense for the entire first period. It looked like parking the bus might help, as Damkronoma conceded just one goal in the first 20 minutes, that coming off the stick of Cayla Barnes.
Unfortunately, for Sweden, they weren’t able to withstand the pressure in the second frame, as the Americans ramped up their attack. Starting with Taylor Heise’s second goal in Milan, the Americans put up four goals in the middle stanza, including Abbey Murphy and Kendall Coyne Schofield’s goals coming less than a minute apart. Hayley Scamurra’s third tally of the tournament capped off a dominating period, putting the U.S. up by five heading into the second period.
Team USA was on cruise control in the third, ensuring no wrongdoing heading into the final. The win marked the Americans’ fifth-straight shutout in the tournament.
The U.S. outshot Sweden 13-2 in the first, ending up leading the count 34-23 at game’s end. Ebba Svensson Traff gave up four goals on 23 shots for Sweden. Emma Soderberg allowed just one on the 11 shots she faced in relief. Aerin Frankel posted her third goose-egg in Milan, becoming the first goaltender in women’s Olympic history to register three shutouts in a single tournament.
With Frankel and the defense in front of her, Team USA hasn’t allowed a goal in over 16 periods of play.
Neither team scored on the power play, as Sweden went 0-for-2 on the player advantage, with the U.S. going 0-for-3.
This will be the fifth consecutive Olympics where the U.S. will play for gold. They await the winner of the second semifinal between Canada and Switzerland. The Americans have made it to all but one of the championship games since women’s hockey was introduced to the Winter Games in 1998.
Despite the loss, Sweden still has a chance to win the country’s third medal in women’s hockey, and first since their Cinderella run to silver in Turin 20 years ago.
United States
Abbey Murphy, F
When I watch Abbey Murphy play, I feel like I’m watching Bullet Bill from Super Mario World. Fast, strong and will go off at anytime. The University of Minnesota star was a force in the semifinal win, scoring a goal and an assist, giving her seven points in Milan. She also used her physical play to keep Sweden on their toes, even running into Soderberg in the third period. Murphy’s tenacity and talent are what make her a star and a future big-time player in the PWHL.
Hannah Bilka, F
A rising star in the PWHL, Bilka has been an exciting player to watch so far in the tournament. While she had been putting the puck in the back of the net in bunches leading up to Monday, the Seattle Torrent forward showed her playmaking side against the Swedes, making a great play to set up Heise in the second period, as well as picking up an assist on Murphy’s goal later in the second. Bilka is now one of five Americans with seven points in the tournament.
Aerin Franekl, G
Frankel has had a pretty easy time in the group stage, allowing just one goal against Czechia. Yet, when Sweden started to press in the second period with a couple of power plays, she had to come up with some big saves. Even when the game started to get out of reach, the Boston Fleet backstop stayed focused and made it known that she wasn’t going to be beaten.
Sweden
Hilda Svensson, F
It was difficult to find many positives for Sweden in this game. They looked to be playing a solid defensive game early on, but had a chance to open up the offense in the second period. Once again, Svensson was there looking to create. She and her teammates didn’t have a whole lot of room, but efforts from the likes of the Ohio State star made things interesting at times for the U.S. defense.
Lisa Johnasson, F
Even when getting banged up in the loss, Johansson was able to generate a few scoring chances against the Americans. While she hasn’t been the team’s go-to offensive weapon in the tournament, the SDE HF product was one of two Swedes to put three shots on goal on Monday. If Damkronoma wants to take home the bronze, Johansson will have to continue to be aggressive on and around the puck.