Knight Makes History En Route to 5-0 USA Win Over Switzerland

In a dominant Team USA win over Switzerland, Hilary Knight tallied three assists to pass Canadian legend Hayley Wickenheiser as the all-time leader in assists at the IIHF World Championships. Knight, who is playing in her 15th World Championship, now owns the records for goals, assists, and points.

“It’s really special,” Knight said in the IIHF recap. “All those players on the leaderboard are [ones] that I looked up to when I was younger. I remember my first World Championship, watching Wickenheiser step over the blueline and absolutely just rip a shot top corner on us [and thinking] okay, it’s the big leagues, right?"

Knight also shouted out some of her longtime linemates who helped her secure the record.

“It’s a huge honour,” Knight said in the IIHF recap. “It’s a testament to what we have in that room, being excited and hungry to show up every single day and compete and play for one another. But I wouldn’t be able to do it without some old linemates: Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Alex Carpenter.”

Tessa Janecke opened the scoring for Team USA with a power-play goal at 11:23. Her finish came after phenomenal puck movement from the Americans, with every player touching the puck shortly before Janecke buried her first of the tournament. Carpenter and Knight were credited with assists.

Just 1:14 later, Coyne Schofield added her first of the tournament, burying a Kelly Pannek rebound to make it 2-0. The goal was her 78th career point, moving her into a tie for Cammi Granato for second all-time in U.S. points at Worlds. Pannek and Haley Winn picked up the assists.

Not quite 2:30 after that, Janecke tapped home her second of the game to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead heading into the locker room. Knight and Carpenter again picked up with the assists, with Knight’s primary marker tying her with Hayley Wickenheiser for the all-time lead in assists at Worlds. The Americans also carried a 16-1 shot advantage into the first intermission.

Halfway through the game, U.S. head coach John Wroblewski put goaltender Ava McNaughton in the net to give her a taste of game action, marking her first senior Worlds game.

Continuing the trend of first goals of the tournament, Caroline Harvey broke through for the Americans again with just 0.8 seconds remaining in the second period. It came after the U.S. had peppered Andrea Brändli with even more shots, landing 21 to Switzerland’s three. Knight’s assist on this goal was her 50th at Worlds, giving her sole possession of the record.

Last but not least, Coyne Schofield buried her second of the day with 1:10 remaining to move into sole possession of second place in Worlds points for the Americans, behind only Knight (117). 

While a 5-0 score doesn't look terrible considering the difference in talent, the 53-6 final shot tally more accurately represents the game. Swiss goaltender Andrea Brändli stood on her head throughout, doing everything she could to give her team a chance. However, Switzerland’s offensive nightmare continued, and they were shut out for the third time. They finished the group round 0-0-0-4 while getting outscored 14-1. Meanwhile, the U.S. went a perfect 4-0-0-0 in the preliminary round, outscoring opponents 18-2.

Other Games Today

The U.S. and Sweden weren't the only teams in action today. Norway and Sweden kicked off the day's slate, while Germany and Japan battled for seeding in the second game.

Game 1: Norway vs Sweden

The day began with Sweden dominating Norway 8-0. Swedish netminder Ida Boman made her first appearance this tournament as Sweden secured its third straight shutout en route to a perfect 4-0-0-0 finish. Meanwhile, Norway was shut out for the second consecutive game and will be relegated to Division 1A next year after going 1-0-0-3, scoring just four goals.

Mira Hallin and Lina Ljungblom made it 2-0 in the first period. It was both Hallin’s and Ljungblom’s second goals of the tournament.

In the second period, Ebba Hedqvist, Jenna Raunio, and Josefin Bouveng extended Sweden’s lead to 5-0. It was the first goal of the tournament for all three skaters.

Finally, Hedqvist completed the hat trick with two goals in the third period, while Hilda Svensson tallied her first of the tournament. The final shots were 56-16.

Game 2: Germany vs Japan

The game’s second day featured a battle for quarterfinal seeding between Germany and Japan. The teams entered with identical 2-0-0-1 records, with the winner of this game moving on to face Canada while the loser drew the United States. Japan secured the narrow 1-0 win despite getting outshot 34-25.

After a scoreless first period, Rui Utika tallied her second goal of the tournament to give Japan the lead.

Despite the Germans' best efforts, they could not crack Japanese goaltender Miyuu Masuhara, and Japan couldn't get another past Sandra Abstreiter, so Utika’s goal was the game's only tally. The win was Japan’s third of the tournament, securing them the seventh seed and right to face what has been the very slightly lesser of two evils in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal Schedule

Tomorrow is an off-day for all teams ahead of Thursday's quarterfinal matchups. Here's how the schedule shook out:

🇫🇮 #3 Finland vs 🇸🇪 #6 Sweden: 10 a.m. local/4 a.m ET

🇺🇸 #1 United States vs 🇩🇪 #8 Germany: 1:30 p.m. local/7:30 a.m. ET

🇨🇿 #4 Czechia vs 🇨🇭 #5 Switzerland: 5 p.m. local/11 a.m. ET

🇨🇦 #2 Canada vs 🇯🇵 #7 Japan: 8:30 p.m local/2:30 p.m. ET

Game to Watch: Finland vs Sweden. Sweden has had an outstanding tournament in Group B, while Finland has struggled a bit in Group A. The Finns came into the tournament looking like the bronze medal favorites, but Sweden will likely give them a ton of trouble in this game. They've outscored their Group B opponents 17-2, which includes three shutouts, and while they've played much easier competition than Finland has, they look hungry for a chance at a medal. The timing of this game is unfortunate for anyone in North America, but regardless of where you live, if you can't watch it live and can record it to watch later, I'd recommend you do.

Editor’s note: The headline was updated to correct the score of the USA-Switzerland game.