United States 14, Denmark 0: an 85-shot quarterfinal sets up Finland

The United States needed 57 seconds to score and less than eight minutes to build a five-goal lead. Its 14-0 victory over Denmark on Friday sent the Americans into the Women’s World Championship semifinals with an 85-8 advantage in shots. The IIHF identifies those 85 shots as a single-game tournament record, surpassing the United States’ 82 against Sweden in 1997.

Taylor Fox opened the scoring. Casey O’Brien and Kelly Pannek made it 3-0 by 2:50, and the Americans scored five times in each of the first two periods before adding four in the third. Haley Winn and Caroline Harvey each finished with two goals and three assists. Denmark’s two goaltenders combined for 71 saves, a measure of the pressure they faced even as the score widened.

Sweden wins a very different quarterfinal

Sweden advanced by protecting one goal. Sara Hjalmarsson redirected Mira Jungaker’s shot in the second period of a 1-0 win over Switzerland. The Swiss pulled goaltender Saskia Maurer late, but could not find an equalizer against Ebba Svensson and the Swedish defense.

The two results complete a semifinal field that already included Canada, a 3-2 winner over Czechia, and Finland, which beat Germany 6-0. Sweden’s narrow win and the Americans’ sustained attack offer sharply different pictures of how to survive the same knockout round.

Sunday’s semifinal schedule

The United States faces Finland on Sunday, November 15, at 9 a.m. EST. Canada plays Sweden at 1 p.m. EST. Both games are in Herning, Denmark. The IIHF’s published starts are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Central European Time, six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

The winners meet for gold on Monday; the losing semifinalists play for bronze. For the Americans, the next task is to carry their early pressure into a game against Finland. For Sweden, the assignment is to turn its quarterfinal defensive control into another full game against Canada.