US women rout Sweden, reach Olympic hockey finals

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-02-23 09:34

VANCOUVER, British Columbia: Monique Lamoureux scored three goals, Jessie Vetter made 11 saves, and the United States women's hockey team rolled into the Olympic gold medal match with a 9-1 semifinal victory over Sweden on Monday.

US women rout Sweden, reach Olympic hockey finals

Monique Lamoureux (L) of the US celebrates with teammate Hilary Knight after scoring a goal in the third period of their women's ice hockey play-offs semifinals game at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 22, 2010. [Agencies]

Caitlin Cahow, Karen Thatcher and Kelli Stack each had a goal and an assist as the US avenged its 2006 loss to Sweden in Turin.

"Obviously, what happened in 2006 was disappointing to everybody with USA Hockey," US coach Mark Johnson said. "We've talked about when you get the opportunity, to be ready. Today was a big hurdle to get across."

The rematch was a comprehensive thrashing of the Swedes and goalie Kim Martin, who came nowhere close to her 37-save performance in Turin.

"It was the same team, same semifinal game, but the similarities end there," US four-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero said. "Everyone knows. No one was saying, 'Remember, remember."'

After outscoring their first four opponents by a combined 40-2, the US team will face the winner of Finland's semifinal meeting with tournament powerhouse Canada. The win by the United States can set up the long-anticipated meeting of the sport's North American leaders.

"Now, it's really exciting," Vetter said. "We made it to the point we really wanted to. I think we're ready for the gold-medal game."

Vetter soundly outplayed Martin, who let in a few stoppable goals and made at least one accidental save off her mask. The Americans' superior offense took care of the rest, jumping to a 4-0 lead early in the second period on consecutive goals by Ruggiero and Cahow. Three goals on their first six shots of the third period finished the scoring.

Sweden's win in the Turin Games handed the US the first loss by a North American team in a major women's hockey tournament. Martin was the star, but she missed much of last collegiate season with a knee injury, only recently returning to competition.

Except for the symmetry of another semifinal meeting, there was little reason to expect a repeat: The US team hadn't lost to Sweden in five international meetings since Turin, outscoring the Swedes 30-2 before beating them three more times in exhibitions leading up to Vancouver.

"To beat them, you need the lucky bounces and excellent goaltending," Sweden coach Peter Elander said. "Today we didn't get any lucky bounces, and we let in some soft goals."

After playing the preliminary round at UBC Thunderbird Arena, both teams waited through a long weekend for the semifinals at the bigger hockey Canada Hockey Place venue. The Americans hadn't played since Thursday, while Sweden had four straight days without a game in a schedule criticized by coaches and some players.