“Today was the next step in our journey to reach our ultimate goal,” said John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.), head coach of the 2024 U.S. Women’s National Team. “We had big performances from our young players and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas) opened the scoring 12:01 into the contest when she gathered a rebound off an Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) shot just outside the crease and shoved the puck home to put Team USA up 1-0. Tessa Janecke (Warren, Ill.) added an assist on the play.
The U.S. doubled its lead on the power play with 6:46 to play in the middle frame when Janecke threaded a pass through traffic across the offensive zone, finding Edwards, who capitalized with a short-side wrister into the top corner.
Edwards picked up her second tally of the game 2:34 into the final stanza when she swatted a rebound into a wide-open net after a nifty move by Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) to beat two defenders before firing a shot on goal to generate the scoring opportunity.
With 13:36 remaining in the contest, Edwards completed a hat trick, blasting a one-timer from the slot past the goaltender off a feed from Kirsten Simms (Plymouth, Mich.) to put Team USA up 4-0.
Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, Ill.) added to the tally, scoring on a shot from the point with 3:50 to play to account for the 5-0 final.
Frankel stopped all 15 shots she faced to earn her fourth shutout of the tournament, setting the record for most-ever at an IIHF Women’s World Championship.
NOTES: Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) was named U.S. Player of the Game … Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.), Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.), and Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y.) were named Team USA’s three best players of the tournament … The U.S. outshot Finland 55-15 … The U.S. was 1-3 on the power play, while Finland was 0-2
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