Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
BEIJING: China's women's ice hockey team defeated Japan 2-1 in a penalty shootout to claim its second win in Group B at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday.
Defending champion the United States won its third consecutive game after beating Switzerland 8-0 in Group A.
China offered waves of offense after the opening puck dropped, even with forward Zhang Mengying injured in the middle of the first period. But Akane Hosoyamada seized the opportunity to score at 18:02 on a powerplay, securing Japan's 1-0 lead into the second period.
No more goals were scored until China's Hu Baozhen equalized at the very beginning of the third period. The 1-1 deadlock ensued and saw the game head into the first overtime at Beijing 2022.
A dramatic moment arrived as a review was made after a China player moved the puck into the net with her body as she slipped, and the goal was ruled out.
During the penalty shootout, Japan failed to score, while Mi Le netted the winner to end the tightly contested match in China's favor.
"For this game and the last, I think the key is that we trusted ourselves and fought hard," China goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying said. "We want to play more and we will be ready for tomorrow."
The U.S. team dominated in the first period for a 5-0 lead, and extended the lead to 7-0 in the second period, before scoring once more in the third period.
Seeded according to the 2020 IIHF Women's World Rankings, the top five U.S., Canada, Finland, ROC and Switzerland teams play in Group A of the preliminary round. Group B consists of Japan, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and hosts China. The Group A teams and the top-three Group B teams will play in the quarterfinals.
China is scheduled on Monday to face its last opponent Sweden, who remains pointless in the preliminary round, and Denmark, also without a win, will play against the Czech Republic. ■
