MILAN, Feb 10 : The United States sent a message with a resounding 5-0 win over depleted rivals Canada in the Milano Cortina group stage on Tuesday, as the defending Olympic champions were without injured “Captain Clutch” Marie-Philip Poulin.
Forward Hannah Bilka scored twice while forward Kirsten Simms and defenders Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards added goals at Santagiulia Arena for the United States’ fourth consecutive win of the Games to clinch the top spot in Group A.
The disjointed Canadian team were playing without their longtime leader after Poulin suffered a lower-body injury during Monday’s win over the Czech Republic. They face Finland on Thursday in their final group stage game.
Harvey fired the puck underneath Canada goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens’ leg in the fourth minute to open the scoring with her second goal in two days, while Bilka flipped the puck in late in the first period off an exquisite pass from Abbey Murphy, who notched three assists for the U.S.
Simms forced the puck over the line on the power play early in the second period, a goal Canadian coach Troy Ryan unsuccessfully challenged, and Murphy assisted Bilka on another goal with seven minutes to go before the intermission.
The converted forward Edwards got her first Olympic goal after she beat the Canadian defender Erin Ambrose for a terrific unassisted effort in the third period to complete the scoring.
