MILAN — The atmosphere at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena shifted palpably as Canada’s women’s hockey team delivered a powerful statement just days before the Olympic quarterfinals. Their emphatic 5-0 victory over Finland on Thursday served as both a psychological reset and competitive declaration following their historic 5-0 defeat to Team USA earlier in the week.
The defending Olympic champions showcased remarkable resilience, with Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” becoming the day’s anthem as Canada secured the second seed in Group A. The victory sets up a quarterfinal encounter with Germany on Saturday, while simultaneously erasing doubts about the team’s championship mentality.
Forward Laura Stacey articulated the team’s mindset: “We needed a good message to be sent, honestly to everybody, but more importantly ourselves. We know what we can do. Obviously, it wasn’t our best game the other night. But this is the Olympics here, and we regrouped.”
The preliminary round concluded with tournament-favored Team USA dominating all four matches by a combined 20-1 scoreline, earning them a quarterfinal meeting with host Italy. The Italian squad, making only its second Olympic appearance, features numerous North American players with Italian heritage, including Canadian-born leading scorer Kristin Della Rovere.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Czechia faces Group B winner Sweden in what promises to be a compelling matchup. Czechia’s program has flourished under coach Carla MacLeod, earning consecutive bronze medals at recent world championships. Sweden, seeking to reestablish its women’s hockey prominence twenty years after their silver medal performance, enters the knockout stage with a perfect 4-0 record and an 18-2 goal differential.
Finland and Switzerland complete the quarterfinal pairings in a matchup of Group A’s fourth and fifth-place finishers. Finland captain Michelle Karvinen emphasized the fresh start mentality: “It’s a quarterfinal, everything is on the line and it’s going to be a totally different game.”