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USA crushes Sweden, moves into women's hockey gold medal game

Canada awaits in the Olympic final, for the fourth time.

February 18, 2014 at 12:31PM

SOCHI, RUSSIA – The U.S. women's hockey team held a marathon video session and a couple of intense practices after losing to Canada in the preliminary round of the Olympic hockey tournament.

The Americans felt like they played hard and physical in a 3-2 loss to their rivals, but they didn't display their usual aggressiveness with the puck. Too often they let the Canadians dictate the play. The U.S. vowed not to let that happen again.

"We said after our loss that I feel bad for the team that has to face us because we're going to be a different team," U.S. captain Meghan Duggan said.

Poor Sweden.

Team USA completely overwhelmed the Swedes 6-1 in the semifinals Monday at Shayba Arena to earn a spot in the gold medal game Thursday. The U.S. and Canada will meet in the gold medal game for the fourth time in the five Olympic Games in which women's hockey has been played.

Canada, the three-time defending Olympic champion, defeated Team USA in the gold medal game in ­Vancouver in 2010.

"I guarantee you, we're going to bring our A game," Duggan said.

That happened in the semifinals and Sweden didn't stand a chance. Six players scored goals and the U.S. beat Sweden in shots on goal by a 70-9 margin. No, that's not a misprint.

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Team USA came within one shot of tying its own Olympic record of 71, set in a 12-1 victory against China at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

"We were just on our toes," Duggan said. "We just got back to the way we play, not sitting back on our heels and waiting for the other team to make moves. We just jumped right on them."

There has been considerable talk at these Games about the improved overall depth in women's hockey internationally. The popular theory is that other countries have closed the gap separating the U.S. and Canada from everyone else.

But as Monday's result demonstrated, that gap is still roughly the size of the Grand Canyon.

"There's not really much to say [except] it's too big of a challenge for us at the moment to beat the U.S.," Sweden assistant coach Leif Boork said. "We know it was one of the best teams in the world and they played good."

To his credit, Boork showed a sense of humor about the ­mismatch.

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"Of course, it can be a problem for the rest of the world that [the U.S. and Canada] are so powerful," he said. "It's not the U.S. and Canada's fault that they're good."

The U.S. scored three goals and outshot Sweden 29-1 in the first period. The Americans held a 5-0 lead and a 51-6 advantage in shots on goal after two periods.

Sweden's coaches pulled starting goalie Valentina Wallner in the second period after she'd seen 47 shots.

"She had a busy day at work," Boork cracked.

The outcome hardly came as a surprise. Team USA is now 12-1 against Sweden in Olympic Games or world championships. Sweden's lone victory came in the 2006 Olympic semifinals.

The U.S. has outscored Sweden 23-3 in the past three meetings and 93-18 overall.

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"I thought we were the kind of team that we're used to seeing: aggressive, going forward, not backing up, moved the puck really well," U.S. coach Katey Stone said. "We're building here and hopefully the best is yet to come."

The American women have not won gold since their Olympic debut in Nagano in 1988. Now they get another shot to change that.

"This moment isn't too big for any of us," defenseman Anne Schleper said.

Amanda Kessel and Meghan Duggan (10)
Amanda Kessel and Meghan Duggan (10) were a happy pair after Kessel scored in the first period. Team USA beat Sweden 6-1 on Monday to advance to the gold medal game against Canada. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Alex Carpenter of the United States shoots on goalkeeper Valentina Wallner of Sweden during the first period of the 2014 Winter Olympics women's semifinal ice hockey game at Shayba Arena Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in Sochi, Russia.
Alex Carpenter of the United States shoots on goalkeeper Valentina Wallner of Sweden during the first period of the 2014 Winter Olympics women's semifinal ice hockey game at Shayba Arena Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Jocelyne Lamoureux (17) was tripped up on this play in the third period resulting in a penalty shot. USA beat Sweden by a final score of 6-1. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ cgonzalez@startribune.com - February 17, 2013, Sochi, Russia, Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Shayba Arena, Women's Hockey Semifinal, USA vs. Sweden
Jocelyne Lamoureux was tripped in the third period, resulting in a penalty shot against Sweden. Team USA outshot Sweden 70-9 in the 6-1 victory. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

about the writer

Chip Scoggins

Columnist

Chip Scoggins is a sports columnist and enterprise writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has worked at the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2000 and previously covered the Vikings, Gophers football, Wild, Wolves and high school sports.

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