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Live Updates: U.S. women's hockey team takes on Finland in first game at Olympics

Posted at 6:34 AM, Feb 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-03 10:29:35-05

The U.S. women's hockey team plays their first game of the 2022 Winter Olympics at 8:10 a.m. ET against Finland. While it's only Game 1, the U.S. is on a mission to defend its title from PyeongChang, and there will be some stiff competition this time around as both Canada and Finland look to improve their fortunes at this year's Games.

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Follow along below for live updates from the highly-anticipated tilt between the U.S. and Finland.

First period

0:00 - The U.S. is wearing its new white sweaters for their debut at the 2022 Olympics. Finland is donning their absolutely gorgeous blue sweaters, which may just be the best get-up of any hockey team at these Games.

4:01 - Big glove save from Maddie Rooney on a shot that was deflected off a Finn's skate in the low slot. Those are always some of the trickiest stops to make. Not a busy start to the period for Rooney, but a crucial save there.

9:32 - Ronja Savolainen and Brianna Decker collide and Decker stayed down for several minutes. The three-time Olympian had to be stretchered off the ice. The injury didn't look good. The severity of her ailment is unclear at this time, but needless to say, losing Decker would be a gigantic blow for the U.S. as it looks to defend its title.

10:37 - Amanda Kessel scores to give the U.S. an early 1-0 lead over the Finns. She creeped in along the goal line into the low slot and slid the puck into the back of the net for the tally. The U.S. badly needed that goal after the injury to Brianna Decker.

12:05 - The U.S. gets its first power play of the Olympics.

13:00 - Alex Carpenter scores on the power play off a beautiful feed from first-time Olympian Jincy Dunne. U.S. takes the two-goal lead.

14:55 - U.S. takes its first penalty of the game. Hayley Scamurra with the infraction, but the U.S. kills it off.

18:12 - The U.S. gets another chance on the power play. They couldn't convert before the first period expired, so they'll have 13 seconds remaining on the advantage to start the middle stanza.

Second period

0:00 - The middle period begins with the U.S. on an abbreviated power play, but they had no luck in their remaining time on the advantage.

5:32 - Kendall Coyne Schofield scores to give the U.S. a three-goal lead. That's the captain's first goal of the tournament.

6:36 - Coyne Schofield scores again with a redirection from the low slot. Two goals for the captain just 64 seconds apart.

10:01 - U.S. gets its third power play of the game. Tanja Niskanen sits for Finland for crosschecking, but the U.S. couldn't convert.

Third period

1:49 - Hayley Scamurra heads to the box again to give Finland another power play.

3:15 - Susanna Tapani finally gets the Finns on the board with a goal on the power play. The U.S. had been stingy on defense all game long, but it felt like Finland would break through at some point.

8:01 - Alex Carpenter scores again to help the U.S. regain its four-goal lead. Excellent feed from Abby Roque to set it up. The U.S. will need Carpenter to keep up the strong play with Decker potentially missing time with her lower-body injury.

17:40 - It appeared the U.S. sealed a 5-1 victory when the clock hit zeroes, but it was ruled that Tapani had actually netted a second goal for Finland before the final horn sounded. Both benches thought the tilt had ended, but the game restarted with 2:20 remaining in the third period. Very odd sequence of events.

20:00 - The U.S. officially seals the 5-2 victory over Finland. The injury to Brianna Decker certainly put a damper on things, but even without her in the lineup, it was an impressive performance for the reigning gold medalists.