BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 06: Team United States walk to the ice against Team Switzerland during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match at Wukesong Sports Center on February 06, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
It’s win or go home for the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team USA begins elimination play with a quarterfinals matchup against the Czech Republic at Wukesong Sports Center. Puck drop is set for 11:10 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The U.S. rolled through its first three contests of Group A round-robin play, beating Finland, ROC and Switzerland by a combined score of 18-2. Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel were among the American standouts, while Nicole Hensley and Alex Cavallini each chipped in a shutout.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The team then met its match in a 2018 gold medal rematch against Canada with the neighbors to the north winning 4-2. Canada got out to a 1-0 start in the first period and outscored the U.S. 3-2 in a chaotic third period. Canadian netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens made 51 saves to stifle Team USA’s offensive attack.
With the result, Canada moved to 4-0 in round-robin action and earned the top spot in Group A. Team USA slid down to No. 2 and will now face the No. 2 team in Group B, the Czech Republic.
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Watch all the action from the Beijing Olympics live on NBC
The Czech women’s hockey team is making its Olympic debut and went 2-1-1 in Group B play. The first two games ended in wins over China and Sweden, but the squad then fell to Denmark in regulation and Japan in a penalty shootout.
The winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal will play the winner of the Finland-Japan quarterfinal, which will take place at 3:40 a.m. ET on Saturday.
