MILAN — Hayley Scamurra scored twice and the United States opened the Milan Cortina Games women’s hockey tournament with a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Thursday.
Alex Carpenter had a goal and assist, while captain Hilary Knight and Joy Dunne also scored for the Americans, who improved to 8-0 against the Czechs in international play. Aerin Frankel, making her Olympic debut in net, stopped 13 shots.
Laila Edwards picked up an assist as she became the first black woman to represent America in hockey at the Olympics.
Barbora Jurickova scored the Czech Republic’s only goal. She was on a breakaway as she left the penalty area, cutting the American lead to 3-1 midway through the second period. Klara Peslarova finished with 37 saves in an outing. The Czech Republic was defeated 31-9 over two periods.
The Czechs are making only their second Olympic appearance, having lost to the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Games in Beijing. They are 0-6 against the US in the world championship, including a 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals in April.
The only other scheduled match of the day in Group A between defending Olympic champions Canada and Finland were postponed until February 12. The Finns’ selection still consisted of eight skaters and two goalkeepers, while the other thirteen players were dealing with a stomach virus that struck the team on Tuesday.
