ESPOO, Finland – Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.), Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) scored two goals apiece and 10 more Americans earned points as the U.S. triumphed over Switzerland, 8-0, here tonight in its third preliminary round game of the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
“We stuck to our game plan, put a lot of pressure on the Swiss back end and we were rewarded with a win tonight,” said Bob Corkum (Salisbury, Mass.), head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “We’re going to enjoy some time off tomorrow and be ready to take on Russia on Tuesday.”
The U.S. broke the ice 3:41 into play when Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) stole the puck from a Swiss defender in the right face-off circle, stick-handled around goaltender Janine Alder and scored for an early 1-0 lead.
Halfway through the period, Emily Pfalzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) carried the puck into the Swiss zone on the forecheck and connected with Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.) streaking toward the net. Beating Alder to the far post, Cameranesi scored the second U.S. goal of the night. Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.) also picked up an assist on the play.
The U.S. went on a power play late in the first when Sarah Forster was sent to the box for a cross-check. With five minutes remaining, Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) manufactured a give-and-go play with Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.), scoring from the slot, increasing the U.S. advantage to three.
Less than one minute into the middle frame, the U.S. had a great sequence of opportunities with multiple shots on Alder but it was Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) who finally corralled the third rebound and banged home the 4-0 tally. Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.) was credited with an assist on the score.
After 26 scoreless minutes of play, Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) took a shot from the blue line that was deflected into the back of the net by Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.), but the goal was called off by the officials.
Kessel lit the lamp for her second of the game with just under 10 minutes remaining, bringing the score to 5-0.
Four and a half minutes later, Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif.) passed to Keller who wound up for a one-timer from the top of the right face-off circle for her second tally of the night.
With four minutes remaining on the clock, Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) joined the scoring, tipping home a shot from Pfalzer from the right face-off dot.
Cameranesi added the eighth and final U.S. goal after winning a puck battle on the goal line below the right face-off circle, and going top-corner on Alder for her second of the night.
In her first start of the tournament, Maddie Rooney (Andover, Minn.) earned a shutout victory with six saves.
The U.S. (3-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will round out preliminary-round play Tuesday (April 9) against Russia at 9 a.m. ET. That game, along with every U.S. tournament game, will be televised live in the United States on NHL Network.
NOTES: Keller was tabbed U.S. Player of the Game ... The U.S. outshot the Swiss, 57-6. For complete game statistics, click here ... Bob Corkum (Salisbury, Mass.) is serving as head coach of the 2018-19 U.S. Women's National Team, alongside assistant coaches Joel Johnson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Brian Pothier (New Bedford, Mass.), and goaltending coach Steve Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska)... The U.S. has won the last four IIHF Women's World Championships and captured the top prize a total of eight times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), including seven of the last eight tournaments. Team USA is 71-4-6-8-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) in 90 career games and has outscored opponents 593-135 ... All games will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NHL Network... For more information about the tournament, click here.
All U.S. games were televised live on NHL Network
Games were held at Metro Areena
DATE | OPPONENT/ROUND | LOCATION | TIME (LOCAL/ET) | TELEVISION | U.S. Player of the Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thu., April 4 | Finland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 6-2 | NHL Network | Kendall Coyne Schofield |
Sat., April 6 | Canada Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 3-2 | NHL Network | Dani Cameranesi |
Sun., April 7 | Switzerland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Megan Keller |
Tue., April 9 | Russia Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 10-0 | NHL Network | Lee Stecklein |
Thu., April 11 | Japan Quarterfinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 4-0 | NHL Network | Maddie Rooney |
Sat., April 13 | Russia Semifinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Hilary Knight |
Sun., April 14 | Finland Gold-Medal Game |
Espoo, Finland | W, 2-1 (SO) | NHL Network | Annie Pankowski |