USA Women’s Ice Hockey Team Advances to Gold Medal Match

The USA women’s ice hockey team is on the brink of winning gold after a solid semifinal victory over Sweden during the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday.

American goaltender Aerin Frankel recorded another shutout, leading the team to a 5-0 win over Sweden. Remarkably, Frankel hasn’t allowed a single goal since their first game against the Czech Republic, where Team USA won 5-1. They’ve really been performing well ever since.

Kayla Burns opened the scoring for the U.S. in the first period with assists from Kelly Panek and Lee Steklein. As the game continued into the second period, the Americans kept finding the net, capturing every opportunity.

In that crucial second period, goals from Tyler Heise, Abby Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Haley Skamura secured the win. The U.S. didn’t add any more goals in the third period, but they didn’t need to, given their lead.

Frankel made an impressive 23 saves during the match, keeping Sweden at bay.

The United States showcased incredible defense throughout the tournament, allowing just one goal in the group stage and outscoring opponents 11-0 in knockout play. Now, they’ll face the winner of the Canada versus Switzerland match for the gold medal.

Interestingly, Team USA has previously defeated both teams 5-0 earlier in the tournament.

Looking ahead, the U.S. team aims to reclaim glory after their tough loss to Canada in the gold medal match at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Historically, the U.S. women’s hockey team has clinched two gold medals since their Olympic debut in 1998, winning in 1998 and 2018.