The United States cruise into the gold medal game at the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 after defeating Sweden in the semifinals. The contest remained close through one period, with Seattle Torrent defender Cayla Barnes scoring the lone goal of the opening frame. However, the Americans pulled away in the second period as Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise, Montréal Victoire forward Haley Scamurra, and collegiate standouts Kristen Simms and Abbey Murphy each found the back of the net.
With her third shutout of the tournament, Boston Fleet and Team USA netminder Aerin Frankel made history, becoming the first goaltender in Olympic women’s hockey history to record three shutouts in a single Winter Olympic Games.
The four second-period goals put the game out of reach for Sweden, which had advanced to the semifinals after winning Group B. The Swedes will now play for bronze on Thursday at 8:40 AM ET against the loser of the other semifinal matchup between Canada and Switzerland. The winner of that game will face the United States in the gold medal match later that afternoon at 1:10 PM ET.