HERNING, Denmark – Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) scored a hat trick and added an assist and Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) tallied five points (2G, 3A) to power Team USA to a 10-1 victory over Czechia in the semifinals of the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship at the KVIK Ice Center.
With the victory, the U.S. advances to the gold medal game, a feat the U.S. has achieved at every World Championship, and will face Canada. Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (Sept. 4) and can be viewed on NHL Network.
Heise and Team USA opened the scoring 7:53 into the first period. Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) fed the puck to Heise in the high slot, where she fired off a shot to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. Hayley Scamurra (Getzville, N.Y.) doubled the U.S. lead less than two minutes later. Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) and Jesse Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) set up the play, as Scamurra sent a quick one timer behind the Czechia netminder.
Kessel added a third for the U.S. with 9:13 left in the period. Heise forced a turnover at the blueline and sent the puck to Kessel, who raced into the zone on a breakaway to make it 3-0. Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) then added a fourth U.S. goal on the power play. Heise sent a shot from the right circle, with Knight deflecting it through between the legs of the Czech goaltender.
Knight scored her second of the game with 1:42 left in the opening frame. Jincy Dunne (O'Fallon, Mo.) carried the puck up the ice and dumped it into the zone. Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas) picked up the loose puck and slid it to Knight who waiting at the doorstep to make it 5-0. With 35 seconds to play in the first, Compher scored her first of the tournament off a turnover at the blue line, lacing the puck high on the glove side. Lacey Eden (Annapolis, Md.) and Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) both earned assists on the play.
Kessel opened the second-period scoring 6:56 into the middle frame with a shot from the circle that went stick side past Czech goaltender Blanka Skodova to extend the lead to 7-0. Tallying points on the play were Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) and Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H.). Czechia then scored their first and only goal just over the halfway mark.
Kessel completed the hat trick just 14 seconds after the Czechia goal. Heise picked up a loose puck after a turnover at the point and fed it to Kessel, who fired a one timer into the net to give the U.S. an 8-1 lead heading into the final period.
Harvey was the first to score in the third, finding the back of the net with just under ten minutes to play. Scamurra sent her the puck from the goal line and Harvey ripped a shot just beneath the crossbar to tack on a ninth to Team USA’s lead.
Heise added her second of the game with 7:25 to play. Kessel picked up the puck off a turnover at the blue line and fed it backhand to Heise, in stride, who fired off a shot and gave the U.S. and 10-1 lead.
Nicole Hensley (Lakewood, Colo.) backed the U.S. in net and recorded nine saves.
NOTES: Hayley Scamurra was named the Player of the Game for Team USA … Taylor Heise, Amanda Kessel and Hilary Knight were named Team USA's three best players of the tournament … Team USA outshot Czechia 39-10 … Team USA was 1-6 on the power play, while Czechia was 0-3 ... Click here for pregame information.