U.S. women’s hockey team dodges upset but still inefficient on offense

Lee Stecklein scored the go-ahead goal on a shot from the right point 6:49 into the third period, and the defending champion United States women’s hockey team avoided an early exit by rallying past the Czech Republic 4-1 in the quarterfinals.

The Americans survived what would have been a major upset in a game in which their offense continued having difficulty finishing against a defensively sound opponent making its Olympic debut.

The U.S., whose only losses in six previous Olympics have been against Canada (six times) and Sweden (once), managed four goals on 59 shots and overcame a 1-0 deficit.

Hilary Knight had a goal and assist, and Savannah Harmon and Kendall Coyne Schofield also scored for the Americans. Alex Cavallini stopped five shots.

Czech goaltender Klara Peslarova stopped 55 shots, including the Americans’ first 22. Michaela Pejzlova scored for the Czech Republic but also had Stecklein’s goahead goal deflect in off her stick.

The Czechs became the sixth women’s hockey team to be held without a shot in a period in the Olympics, after the U.S. had an 18-0 edge through 20 minutes. Still, the Czechs opened the scoring on their second shot 4:59 into the second period.

The U.S led the tournament through the preliminary round with 233 shots on net but ranked fourth among 10 teams in scoring efficiency with 20 goals.

■ Skeleton: Christopher Grotheer was the runaway men’s winner, giving Germany its first gold medal in the event. The 29-year-old’s four-run time over two days was 4 minutes, 1.01 seconds. Germany’s Axel Jungk (4:01.67) took silver and China’s Yan Wengang (4:01.77) bronze, giving China its first medal in a sliding sport. Also, the Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych will not face discipline for flashing a small sign urging peace in his homeland at the end of his 18th-place run, the International Olympic Committee said.

■ Cross country skiing: Finland’s Iivo Niskanen maintained his dominance, winning gold in the 15-kilometer race. The 30-year-old crossed the line and collapsed, spread eagle, with a time of 37 minutes, 54.8 seconds. It was his third Olympic gold. He won the 50-kilometer classic race in Pyeongchang and the classic team sprint at the 2014 Sochi Games. Russian Alexander Bolshunov was 23.2 seconds back and won silver, and Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo was 37.5 seconds back and took bronze.

■ Downhill skiing: Switzerland’s Lara Gut-behrami won the women’s super-g for her first Olympic gold after two successive fourth-place finishes in super-g at the Winter Games. The 30-year-old has two Olympic bronze medals, including one from Monday’s giant slalom. Defending champion Ester Ledca of the Czech Republic placed fifth. Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who failed to finish either of her two previous races in Beijing, placed ninth.

■ Women’s speedskating: The Netherlands’ Suzanne Schulting successfully defended her title in 1,000-meter short track event. The 24-year-old, who set the world and Olympic records in the quarterfinals, finished in 1 minute, 28.391 seconds. South Korea’s Choi Minjeong took silver and Belgium’s Hanne Desmet bronze. Italy’s Arianna Fontana, chasing an 11th career medal, was penalized for a lane change that caused contact with American Kristen Santos and prompted both to fall.

■ Men’s speedskating: Defending champion Wu Dajing of China easily qualified in the heats of 500-meter short track event. Also moving to Sunday’s quarterfinals are China’s Ren Ziwei, Canada’s Steven Dubois and South Korea’s Hwang Daeheon. Liu Shaolin Sandor and his brother, world champion Liu Shaoang, of Hungary moved on. Their American-born teammate, John-henry Krueger, also qualified.

■ Figure skating: After winning gold, Nathan Chen said he is looking forward to going back to school at Yale and is undecided about what’s next for him in the sport. The 22-year-old from Salt Lake City, who is majoring in statistics and data science, has been on leave at Yale since the fall of 2020.