BELL AND CANADA OVER SÖDERBERG AND SWEDEN IN OLYMPIC QUARTER FINAL
There were no disturbances in the Olympic women’s hockey’s first two quarter finals on Friday, when Canada defeated Sweden 11-0 and the USA kept the Czech Republic away with 4-1.
In the first match at the Wukesong Sports Center, the Czech Republic and Katerina Mrazova kept the match close – 1-1 – until the third period. Maddie Rooney was dressed but did not play for the United States, who scored an empty goal late in the fourth to ice their victory and advance to the next round.
In the second match, Ashton Bell met against Emma Söderberg instead of her typical presence in front of her like a bulldog. Canada simply became too much for the Swedes, who together with Söderberg have former UMD forward Michelle Lowenhielm in front. Both Bell and UMD All-American Jocelyne Larcoque had assists for Canada. Larocque’s second assist of the tournament came at 3:16 of the second period, a secondary assistant that gave the Canadians a 5-0 lead. Bell followed 29:09, the primary assist that gave Canada a 9-0 lead. Söderberg played the first two periods and made 30 saves on 39 shots.
Bell is split in seventh place in assists over the tournament with four. The Bulldog All-American has five points in five games in its first ever Olympic Games (1g, 4a).
Söderberg finishes his first Olympics as one of the tournament’s most powerful players and a breakaway star for Sweden. The Jarved, Sweden native had an Olympic high of 167 total saves and a 0.912 save percentage. Söderberg helped Sweden recover from two early losses to two straight wins that took a quarter-final place for the Swedes.
Two former Bulldogs come tonight to see which of their teams advance to the semifinals – Lara Stalder will lead Switzerland against Alexandra Vafina and the Russian Olympic Committee.