Hailey Wynn scored twice, veterans Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight each had a goal, and the U.S. defeated Switzerland in the first round of pool play Wednesday at the Adirondack Bank Center. I won with 0.
Playing in front of an enthusiastic and vocal home crowd of 3,128, cash medalist Team USA followed the storyline seen in the previous two games of the Kids Day tournament in Utica with an uncharacteristic scoreless performance. withstood the first period. Sweden and the Czech Republic each took a 2-0 lead in the second period and went on to win.
more: When to watch: IIHF Women's World Championship Hockey Schedule
The U.S. outscored non-Canadian teams 47-5 in six pool games in 2022 and 2023, but in each game the team was scoreless in the first period.
Wynn, one of 18 returning players from the 2023 team that won a gold medal in Brampton, Ont., is a native New Yorker who grew up in Rochester and now plays at Clarkson University, 5 1/2 minutes into the game. He scored with a wrister from the correct position. Second period. She scored again in the third period, limiting her scoring for the match after another U.S. goal was dismissed on review.
Six-time world championship gold medalist and former team captain Coyne Schofield gave birth to her first child, a son, in July and will miss the 2023 Games. She and Grace Zumwinkle will return to the team in 2024, marking her 10th appearance. Coyne Schofield scored his 27th goal of the tournament late in the second period on Wednesday with a powerful shot from the right wing that went into the net.
In the third period, Hilary Knight dealt another blow to American Veterans. The 34-year-old current team captain and tournament's all-time leading scorer scored the 64th goal of his tournament career and also added an assist, increasing his total points to 107 points. Knight was credited with assisting on the power play goal. Caroline Harvey and Kayla Burns are in the middle of their third period. The second goal was canceled by video review two and a half minutes later. Eighty-eight seconds later, Knight and Coyne Schofield assisted on Wynn's second goal.
Fellow returnee Aerin Frankel made 11 saves for her second career shutout of the tournament. Frankel was the starting goaltender for his USA team, where he held a tournament record of 6-0-1 and was held scoreless in the first period, aided by his two flashy grabs in his period. I kept it to.
The Americans held a 55-11 shot advantage, and Andrea Brendli made 51 saves for Switzerland.
The U.S. team defeated Switzerland in pool play the past two years, 9-1 and 9-0.
The U.S. team will next play the Czech Republic on Friday, medalists the past two years who played against Finland on Wednesday. Switzerland will play Canada on Friday afternoon.
This article originally appeared in the Times-Telegram: Team USA shutout Switzerland in IIHF Women's World Championship
