BRAMPTON, Ontario – Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) scored the fastest goal in IIHF Women’s World Championship history seven seconds into the game as the U.S. Women’s National Team powered to a 9-1 victory over Switzerland in its second game of the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship Friday at the CAA Centre.
"For a morning game especially, we answered the bell right away. It was apparent that we were ready to play,” said John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.), head coach of the 2023 U.S. Women’s National Team. “Our attention to detail and our respect for the game I thought was at the utmost level. It was a fun game to be behind the bench in and I thought we got better today.”
The U.S. pounced on Switzerland just seven seconds into the game as Murphy took Abby Roque’s (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) opening faceoff win down the ice, blazed past two Swiss defenders and ripped a shot beyond Switzerland goaltender Saskia Maurer for the fastest goal in Women’s World’s history.
Team USA then notched two goals in a span of 23 seconds towards the end of the first period extending its lead to 3-0. First, Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H) scored a power-play goal with 4:41 left in the period before Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas) ripped a shot five-hole with 4:18 remaining. Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) assisted on both goals.
Becca Gilmore (Wayland, Mass.) next made it 4-0 on her first goal as a member of the Women’s National Team with 3:04 left in the period thanks to a feed from Gabbie Hughes (Lino Lakes, Minn.), who earned her first career point as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team on the play.
Roque got herself on the scoresheet with a one-timer at 8:23 of the second period, giving the U.S. a 5-0 lead, when she converted on a pass from Murphy. In addition to her first goal of the tournament, the forward also picked up three assists in the game.
Team USA made it six unanswered goals with 1:56 remaining in the middle frame as Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) scored her first goal of the world championship with both teams skating 4-on-4. Heise was credited with the helper on the goal.
Harvey potted her second power-play goal of the game at 7:45 of the third period, giving the U.S. a 7-0 lead, when she buried home a feed from Roque, who joined Heise with a team-high three assists in the game.
Switzerland prevented a shutout midway through the third period with a power-play goal of its own to make it a 7-1 game.
The U.S. added two more goals for the 9-1 final. At exactly 5:00 to go in the game, Barnes notched her first goal of the tournament. Following a scrum down low, the defender tracked the puck and pulled the puck from traffic before firing it into the top left corner.
Hughes picked up her first goal as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team with 29 seconds on the clock in the third period. Barnes made a play to protect the puck and send a feed to Hughes, who fired in a backhander while falling to her knees to cap off the scoring for Team USA.
Nicole Hensley (Lakewood, Colo.) made 12 saves in goal for the U.S.
With the win, the U.S. moved to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament. Team USA will next face Czechia on Sunday, April 9, at 3 p.m. ET live on NHL Network as it continues preliminary-round play.
Notes: Caroline Harvey was named U.S. Player of the Game with two goals, including the game-winner …Team USA outshot Switzerland 54-13…The U.S. was 3-for-4 on the power play, and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The U.S. added two more goals for the 9-1 final. At exactly 5:00 to go in the game, Barnes notched her first goal of the tournament. Following a scrum down low, the defender tracked the puck and pulled the puck from traffic before firing it into the top left corner.
Hughes picked up her first goal as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team with 29 seconds on the clock in the third period. Barnes made a play to protect the puck and send a feed to Hughes, who fired in a backhander while falling to her knees to cap off the scoring for Team USA.
Nicole Hensley (Lakewood, Colo.) made 12 saves in goal for the U.S.
With the win, the U.S. moved to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament. Team USA will next face Czechia on Sunday, April 9, at 3 p.m. ET live on NHL Network as it continues preliminary-round play.
Notes: Caroline Harvey was named U.S. Player of the Game with two goals, including the game-winner …Team USA outshot Switzerland 54-13…The U.S. was 3-for-4 on the power play, and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill