BEIJING –
Arch’s rivals Canada and the United States face yet another hurdle ahead of their much-anticipated Women’s Olympic final, with challengers in the semifinals attempting to cut off their gold path on Wednesday. Two.
The longtime hockey powerhouses are said to be capable of competing for the title in Beijing, but Switzerland and Finland are hoping to spoil the party, taking on Canada and the US.
For Finland, this pairing offers a chance for sweet revenge after they lost 5-0 to the Americans in the semi-finals of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games and 2-1 in the final of the 2019 World Championships.
Finland head coach Juuso Toivola said: “We have great memories playing against them and we will take our strength from that and keep going. “(Has) a sense of revenge.”
Bronze medalist Thrice Finland lost 5-2 to the Americans in their opening match in Beijing before losing two more games in the preliminary round but said they had found their footing after edging Japan by a margin. 7-1 in the quarterfinals.
Bronze medalist Sochi beat Switzerland 4-2 against the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in an intense quarter-final on Saturday to kick off a meeting with Canada, having already achieved their Beijing dream.
“Our main goal is to get to the quarterfinals but we’re not done yet. We want to go from here and win that medal,” said Pyeongchang track athlete Dominique Ruegg, who helped her team roll. finished fourth at the World Championships. last year. “We just want to keep going.”
They will be up against a Canadian team looking to reclaim gold after the United States finished four consecutive Olympic championships in 2018.
The Canadians have beaten every opponent on their way to date, scoring 44 points in five games.
Blayre Turnbull, who has scored three goals and provided two assists for the Canadian, said: “We’ve been through a lot.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Beijing; editing by Clare Fallon)
