Sochi Watch: U.S. women cruise to gold-medal game with rout of Sweden

By Michael Caples –

The U.S. women’s team had Sweden standing in their way from a trip to the gold-medal game in Sochi.

Sweden didn’t do a very good job of slowing them down, though.

The American squad fired 70 shots on goal – while holding Sweden to only nine – Monday, en route to a 6-1 win in the semifinals of the women’s hockey tournament as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Team USA will play the winner of the Canada vs. Switzerland semifinal contest in the gold-medal game on Thursday.

Alex Carpenter, Kacey Bellamy, Amanda Kessel, Monique Lamoureux, Megan Bozek and Brianna Decker all scored for Team USA in the lopsided win, while Jessie Vetter stopped eight of the nine shots she faced.

Sweden’s Anna Borgqvist spoiled Vetter’s shutout bid at the 53:04 mark of the contest.

It is expected that Team USA will face Canada on Thursday in the gold-medal game; that game will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET on NBC.

In the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada beat the U.S. 2-0 in the gold-medal game. The only women’s gold-medal game that didn’t feature the U.S. and Canada was 2006, when the U.S. won bronze.

Team USA last captured gold in 1998 – the first time women’s hockey was played at the Winter Olympics.