U.S. women's hockey team opens Olympics with win; Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards has an assist

MILAN — Hayley Scamurra scored twice, and the United States opened the Milan Cortina Games women's hockey tournament with a 5-1 win over Czechia on Thursday. Alex Carpenter had a goal and assist, while captain Hilary Knight and Joy Dunne also scored for the Americans, who improved to 8-0 over the Czechs in international play. Aerin Frankel, making her Olympic debut in net, stopped 13 shots. Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards had an assist while becoming the first Black female to represent America in hockey at the Olympics. Barbora Jurickova scored Czechia's lone goal. She was set up on a breakaway as she exited the penalty box to cut the Americans lead to 3-1 midway through the second period. Klara Peslarova finished with 37 saves in an outing Czechia was out-shot 31-9 through two periods. The Czechs are making just their second Olympic appearance, and lost to the Americans in quarterfinal round of the 2022 Beijing Games. They are 0-6 against the U.S. in world championship play, including a 2-1 loss in the semifinals in April. The day's only other scheduled Group A game between defending Olympic champion Canada and Finland was postponed to Feb. 12. The Finns' roster was down to eight skaters and two goalies, with the remaining 13 players dealing with a stomach virus that hit the team on Tuesday. The Americans were greeted a loud cheer and a "U-S-A!" chant began at puck drop. Among those on hand in a nearly packed 5,000-plus seat Rho Ice Hockey Arena, were U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived about 12 minutes in, and departed with just over six minutes remaining. The large delegation that included USA Hockey officials and a security detail, filled a section of seats directly behind the penalty box and immediately opposite the U.S. bench. Scamurra's two goals are indicative of how deep the Americans are. She's regarded as the team's 13th forward in playing a jack-of-all-trades role. From Buffalo, New York, the 31-year-old doubled her Olympic goal output after scoring once at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Carpenter opened the scoring by tipping in Megan Keller's shot from the blue line for a power-play goal with 4:05 left in the first period. The tournament-favored Americans then blew the game open with three goals in the second period in building a 4-1 lead. Dunne and Scamurra scored 86 seconds apart in the first five minutes of the period. The 36-year-old Knight continued showing she's not lost a step in making her fifth and what she says is her final Winter Games. Accepting Carpenter's pass, Knight broke up the right wing and got two steps past defender Klara Seroiszkova. Knight drove to the net and lifted a shot to beat Peslarova high on the short side. In an earlier Group B game, Lina Ljungblom scored twice in Sweden's 4-1 comeback win over Germany in the tournament-opening game. Katarina Jobst-Smith's goal early in the first period gave Germany the lead before Ljungblom's two goals turned the game around and Mira Jungaker and Thea Johansson extended the Swedes' lead. Beating Germany is a big step in Sweden's push to win Group B, where the lower-ranked teams play, and secure a better seeding for the quarterfinals. All five teams in Group A and the top three in Group B make the playoffs. Meantime, host team Italy defeated France 4-1 to post its first victory in making its second Olympic appearance. France is making its Olympic debut. The game was the played at the main rink, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which faced scrutiny over construction delays.