The world champions from ice hockey motherland Canada outclassed Switzerland, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, on Thursday (February 3rd, 2022) at the start of the preliminary round in Group A 12:1 (3:0, 5:0, 4:1).
Blayre Turnbull (3), Sarah Fillier (2), Natalie Spooner (2), Laura Stacey (2), Rebecca Johnston, Ashton Bell and Erin Ambrose scored the goals at the National Indoor Stadium for the gold candidate, who died in 2018 after four Olympic gold medals in Consecutively the USA had to give way. Only Lara Stalder scored for the Swiss.
China loses to the Czech Republic
For the hostesses, the Olympics began with the expected defeat. China, ranked 19th in the world, lost 3-1 (0-1, 1-1, 0-1) in Group B to the Czech Republic at the Wukesong Sports Center. Led by German referee Tijana Haack, Tereza Radova (11′), Deniza Krisova (24′) and Michaela Pejzlova (47′) scored for the favored Czechs.
Mi Le, whose real name has been translated into Chinese as Hannah Miller, struck a 30th-minute slap shot to level the game and China’s first goal since the Vancouver 2010 games, when the eight-team selection finished seventh.
In Group B with China and the Czech Republic, Sweden still meets Japan. In group A, there will be a duel between the ice hockey nations Finland and the USA, Canada’s biggest competitor in the fight for gold.
Six corona cases in the Russian team
Meanwhile, the women of the Russian Olympic Committee have to do without six players in their first game in Group A due to positive corona tests. Coach Jewgeny Bobariko announced on Thursday that despite the high number of infections, they will play against Switzerland on Friday (February 4th, 2022).
The Russian team had been in isolation in the Olympic Village from January 31 to February 2 after some positive PCR tests. According to the TASS news agency, the tests of players, coaches and other team members were negative over the three days, so the team was given permission to train on Wednesday. There are currently 19 players in the Russian squad.