Switzerland managed to secure their ticket to the semi-finals of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament, but a huge challenge awaits them now.
Ahead of a possible matchup against Canada or the United States, the Swiss can celebrate their 4-2 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee in the quarter-finals.
Switzerland opened the scoring through Phoebe Staenz in the middle period. Only three minutes later, Anna Savonina provided the reply.
After a goal disallowed at the ROC as the puck had ricocheted off the inside shutter of the bay window in the neutral zone earlier, Dominique Ruegg put Switzerland back in the lead. Plina Luchnikova took advantage of the confusion in front of goaltender Andrea Braendli to tie the score.
Just 30 seconds later, Lara Stalder delivered a superb pass to Alina Muller who pushed the puck deep into the goal as she crashed onto the ice to make it 3-2. Muller herself completed the scoring in an empty net to formalize her team’s victory.
The last game of the quarter-finals in the women’s competition will see Finland and Japan face off later tonight. The day before, the Canadians crushed Sweden 11-0 and the Americans got the better of the Czech Republic.
In the preliminary round, the Swiss lost 12-1 to the Canadians and 8-0 to the Americans.
