Beijing, 11 Feb (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Winter Olympics held a women's hockey quarterfinal and a men's ice hockey group stage competition on the 11th, with the champions and runners-up of the last Winter Olympics, the American women's ice, and the Canadian women's ice, respectively, beating their opponents and reaching the top four; the Men's Team of the Russian Olympic Committee defeated Denmark 2-0 in the group stage to win two consecutive victories.
Czech player Daniela Pesova is playing on February 11. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Yanhua
Facing the Czech women's ice team that reached the Winter Olympics for the first time, although the United States team had an absolute advantage in the number of effective shots on goal, it was not easy to win. In the first quarter, the United States launched a tidal wave of attacks on the Czech goal, but the Czech defense was rock solid and did not let the United States succeed. In the second quarter, the Czech team seized one of the few opportunities to be led by Pezlova. The U.S. team was more aggressive after conceding the ball, equalizing with a goal from striker Knight.
The 1-1 score extended into the third quarter, when the U.S. finally found the feeling of scoring. Strickyn, Harmon and Coyne Schofield scored consecutive goals to help the United States win the game 4-1.
U.S. player Kelly Pennek (left) competes with Czech player Sarah Kayanova during a match on Feb. 11. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Yongmin
After the game, Knight paid tribute to his opponents. "Our opponent is a tenacious team, it's a game to win and lose, and each team has to do their best to survive," she said. Glad that in the end we won the game. ”
Czech coach Pasina said: "I am very proud to be in the quarter-finals of the team's first Winter Olympic trip. As a small country with a small women's hockey population, I think our performance has amazed everyone. ”
With this victory, the U.S. team continued its impressive record of breaking into the final four in every tournament since the establishment of the women's hockey program at the 1998 Winter Olympics. In the previous 6 Winter Olympics, the American women's ice won 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.
In another women's ice quarterfinal, Canada beat Sweden by an 11-0 margin to secure another place in the semifinals. The current record for women's ice hockey in a single Winter Olympics is 48, set by Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and after winning sweden, Canada has scored 44 goals in this Winter Olympics. Canada, with at least two games left, is likely to set a new record in Beijing.
On February 11, Canadian player Renata Fast (bottom) attacked during the match. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi
The men's hockey group stage was played in 4 games. Defending champions Austria defeated Denmark 2-0 and booked a place in the quarter-finals in advance with a two-game winning streak. Although the strength is superior, the Russian and Austrian teams are not ideal in this game, and until the end of the third quarter, they only led by one goal. In the final stage of the match, the Danish team withdrew the goalkeeper for a final attempt, and the Russian-Austrian team seized a steal opportunity, and with 6 seconds left in the game, Semenov played an empty goal to seal the victory.
Another men's ice team, the Czech Republic, beat Switzerland 2-1 through a shoot-on-goal match. Sweden beat Slovakia 4-1. Finland beat Latvia 3-1.
Editors: ShuWen, Wu Bowen, Wu Junkuan, Qiu Xinyi (Intern)