Winter Olympics 2014: Sweden, Switzerland advance in women’s hockey
Battling for the right to face off against the two North American powers in women’s hockey, Sweden and Finland matched up early this morning, followed by Switzerland and Russia.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Sweden 4, Finland 2
Noora Raty has been a star for Finland during the women’s ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics, but her heroics were not enough to get Finland to the semifinals this year, as Sweden won 4-2 on the back of a 29-save performance from Valentina Wallner in goal.
Pernilla Winberg, who notched three assists for Sweden and played 27:21, was easily Sweden’s best player. Finnish captain Jenni Hiirikoski played 30:37, but couldn’t make the difference for Finland.
Switzerland 2, Russia 0
In the other game Saturday, Florence Schelling continued her brilliant tournament for Switzerland with a 41-save shutout to eliminate the host team. Russia will finish a disappointing finish of fifth place, or lower.
Stefanie Marty scored the lone goal for Switzerland 10:46 into the first period, after which the Swiss switched into a defensive shell to protect the lead. It wasn’t until Lara Stalder scored on the empty net with 21 seconds remaining that they had a cushion.
Sweden will go on to face the United States on February 17th at 7:30am, while the Swiss will once again face Canada at 12:00pm. Canada lost the previous meeting 5-0 in the first game of the tournament for both teams.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis
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