Finland gives U.S. women a scare
Favorites for gold pushed in opener
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – Nothing like Finnish elite goalie Noora Raty to remind a team that the path to an Olympic gold medal in ice hockey is always bumpy.
“It’s really hard to beat Noora off that first shot,” U.S. forward Monique Lamoureux-Morando said. “If she can see it, it’s probably not going in, unless you’re picking a corner, and even then she sometimes finds a way.”
The Americans needed 42 shots to down Raty and the Finns by a 3-1 decision. It wasn’t until Dani Cameranesi scored an empty-netter with 13 seconds remaining that the U.S. women could be confident about the win.
The Finns forced the Americans to rise up to beat them.
“I’m thankful for a hard first game, because it shouldn’t be easy,” U.S. coach Robb Stauber said. “And it wasn’t.”
Raty is arguably the best goalie in the tournament, and she gave the Finns an opportunity to upset the Americans. She was aided by a strong overall effort by a Finnish team that won the bronze in last spring’s World Championships.
“I don’t think too many teams are much more defensive than Finland,” Stauber said. “They are very, very good at it.”
The U.S. women and Canada are considered co-favorites for the gold medal, but the Americans didn’t take Finland lightly.
“The landscape of women’s hockey has changed a lot,” U.S. forward Hilary Knight said. “Finland is a great team, and there are a lot of great teams. You can’t look all the way to the gold medal game. You have (to concentrate) on every single step you take.”
The Americans had to rally after the Finns claimed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Venla Hovi with six seconds left in the first period. Stauber noted that it was the first game of the tournament, “and there could have been some nerves involved.”
American forward Kendall Coyne said “we were a little bit not ourselves” in the first period. She blamed it on jitters.
In the second period, USA outshot Finland 21-5.
“It’s great to be able to make a mistake like that and still win,” Stauber said.
It was the USA’s veterans who stepped up in the second period. Lamoureux-Morando scored, along with Coyne. Knight made a nifty pass to set up Coyne.
“Our players knew that Finland was going to play really hard,” Stauber said. “We warned them. We told them, and they were ready for it.”
Maddie Rooney, 20, was given the start in the U.S. goal, and Stauber called her work “solid.” She posted the best statistics in the U.S. pre-Olympic tour.
One question coming into the Olympics is whether the USA is as strong offensively as it has been in the past.
In the pre-Olympic tour, the Americans had three losses to Canada in which they scored only one goal. They managed two against Raty.
“Not worried,” Stauber said. “You’d like to come out and score a whole bunch more, but as Finland always does, they play very tough.”