Beijing, February 5 (Xinhua) -- The women's ice hockey of the Beijing Winter Olympics entered its third matchday on the 5th, with the winning Canadian team and the United States both appearing, with Canada beating the powerful Finnish team 11:1 and the United States defeating the Russian Olympic Committee team 5:0.
Canadian player Sarah Filil (right) competes with Finnish players during a match on Feb. 5. On the same day, in the women's ice hockey group stage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Wukesong Sports Center, Canada defeated Finland 11-1. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Yanhua
Canada is one of the biggest favourites to win the women's ice hockey event at the Beijing Winter Olympics, having beaten the world's fifth-ranked Swiss team by a 12-1 margin in the previous group stage.
The Finnish team is not weak, ranking third in the world, but Finland is far behind Canada in its historical record. The two sides have previously met 88 times in international competitions, and Canada has the absolute upper hand with a record of 85 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.
Finland's two wins against Canada came in 2017 and 2019, so Finland wasn't without a chance against Canada. In the preview of the game, the official website of the International Ice Federation also used the title of "Can Finland beat Canada again".
However, the course of the game once again proved the strength of the Canadian team. Just one minute into the opening minute, Canada scored. After conceding the ball, the Finnish defence held on for 11 minutes, but was rewrote to 2-0 by opposing striker Nas. At the end of the first quarter, Finland pulled back a city with a goal from Tominin.
At the start of the second quarter, Canada was fully into rhythm, scoring five goals in a row to rewrite the score to 7:1. In the final quarter, Canada scored four more goals and won with a huge advantage of 10 goals.
On February 5, The Canadian players celebrated after scoring a goal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Yongmin
For this big win, Nas, who scored 3 goals personally, said: "In fact, we didn't notice that we scored so many goals, because everyone was focused on the rotation of the game, just focusing on how to organize the attack more effectively. Do this well, and the result of the game is a natural thing. ”
The world's number one U.S. team defeated the Russian Olympic Committee team in a "strong dialogue". The superior U.S. team launched an onslaught on the opposing goal at the beginning of the game and took advantage of a chance to play more and less at the opening 12 minutes and 29 seconds, with Harmon leading the goal. The tenacious Russian Olympic Committee team tried its best on the defensive end, but under the fierce attack of the American team, it still lost one or the other, and finally the United States team won by 5 goals.
Japan and the Czech Republic also won two straight games that day. Japan, who defeated Sweden 3-1 in the first match, faced their second opponent, Denmark, and won a 3-0 advantage in the first quarter, and finally won an easy victory 6:2.
On February 5, Japan player Mitsuru Yamashita (front two from right) scored a goal during the match. On the same day, in the women's ice hockey group stage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Wukesong Sports Center, Japan defeated Denmark 6-2. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Yanhua
For the next group stage opponent China, Japan coach Yuji Iizuka said: "The Chinese team is a very good team, there are many talented players in the team, the next game is also a challenge for us, we have to grasp the details and hope to have a desired result." ”
The Czech Republic beat Sweden 3-1 and scored six points with Japan, ranking second in Group B for goal difference.
At present, all teams have played at least two matches, with Canada in Group A, Japan in Group B and The Czech Republic unbeaten. The Canadian team and the United States team, which are in good shape, have a significant advantage in strength compared to other teams, and the two teams will have a high probability of becoming the final teams of this Winter Olympic Games.
Editors: Wang Hengzhi, Yu Sihui, Cao Yibo, Zhang Yumeng (Intern)