Swedish bid for women's hockey gold ended by heavy USA loss at semi-final stage

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/bcZueL1Q/"]Sweden[/a] had won all four of their games in the lower-ranked Group B before causing a real upset by beating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/WGoMPpvs/"]Czech Republic[/a] 2-0 in the quarter-finals. However, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/hhS4ztel/"]USA[/a], with a perfect record in Group A and a 6-0 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/8vEF7gsr/"]Italy[/a] in the last eight, were going to be by far the Swedes' toughest test.[/p][p]And the Americanss laid down a marker with just over five minutes gone in the game - [b]the Swedish defence was stretched by a long period of US attack, and when the puck was played back to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barnes-cayla/Mg0W0onU/"]Cayla Barnes[/a], she tried her luck from the right, and the puck sailed through a crowd and into the net.[/b][/p][p]That was USA's fifth shot of the game, which came before the Swedes had had one. There was a risk of the floodgates opening when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hjalmarsson-sara/CAi5cfD0/"]Sara Hjalmarsson[/a] was called for boarding in the ninth minute, but Sweden surviveed their opponents powerplay and the rest of the period without falling further behind.[/p][embed guid="62535226-ada4-4f7c-9a3d-95ffec7552a9" url="https://x.com/IIHFHockey/status/2023456899299992023" social-type="twitter" /][p]Damkronorna were down 13-2 on the shot count when period two got underway, but that didn't stop them coming out strongly, taking six of the first eight efforts on goal, although [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carpenter-alexandra/8pwQ1TtJ/"]Alexandra Carpenter[/a] hitting the crossbar was the closest either side came.[/p][p]Sweden's opportunity seemed to be coming when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scamurra-hayley/65vyQQRb/"]Hayley Scamurra[/a] was called for tripping, but not only could they not make use of their first powerplay, but they were given a sucker punch just over a minute after the Americans got back to full strength.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bilka-hannah/xUMCYyie/"]Hanna Bilka[/a] had space to motor into the Swedish zone on the right, before sliding the puck across to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/heise-taylor/KtdmH80e/"]Taylor Heise[/a], whose shot just managed to squeeze past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/svensson-ebba/dt0MykGl/"]Ebba Svensson[/a] Trapp.[/b][/p][p]Ulf Lundberg's side kept pushing to get back into the game, but another powerplay came and went after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simms-kirsten/Y1tdoomC/"]Kirsten Simms[/a] was called for interference, then a disastrous final five minutes sent the USA to the final with a period to spare.[/p][p][b]A loose puck deep the the Swedish zone was comfortably collected by Bilka, who fed it back for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/murphy-abbey/WYrhyVCg/"]Abbey Murphy[/a] to strike home number three despite a very tight angle.[/b] It was four just under a minute later, [b]when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/edwards-laila/pGCH8ADQ/"]Laila Edwards[/a] had time to pick her spot from distance, and the slightest touch from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/coyne-kendall/plgnZAwo/"]Kendall Coyne Schofield[/a] took it past Svensson Trapp.[/b][/p][p]Sweden then replaced Svensson Trapp with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/soderberg-emma/Opwh0qws/"]Emma Soderberg[/a], but it made little difference, as she too was picking the puck out of her net within seconds, [b]as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/curl-britta/Ym62KDad/"]Britta Curl-Salemme[/a] found Scamurra with a well-timed pass from behind the net, setting up a simple finish for 5-0.[/b][/p][embed guid="4e5dcdc5-66d6-4829-9808-11cf0c3d8ca0" url="https://x.com/usahockey/status/2023457140770320772" social-type="twitter" /][p]The European side kept pushing in the third period, [b]but when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ljungblom-lina/IV2xXMe5/"]Lina Ljungblom[/a]'s shot in the final seconds was saved by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/frankel-aerin/UHgi3i5S/"]Aerin Frankel[/a], the buzzer sounded on a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/sweden-bcZueL1Q/usa-hhS4ztel/?mid=YuUTPaUr"]5-0 victory for the USA[/a], with Frankel taking her save tally to 23.[/b][/p][p]Sweden will now face the loser of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/Aq5hyMur/"]Canada[/a] vs [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/zJQ7juAs/"]Switzerland[/a] semi-final in the bronze medal match on Thursday 19th, while the USA will play the winner for gold later the same day.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/hockey/world/olympic-games-women/"]Follow the women's Olympic ice hockey tournament on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]