Injured U.S. hockey star Brianna Decker to miss rest of Olympic women's tournament
Forward fell awkwardly to ice after being tripped by Finnish opponent in 1st period
USA Hockey has confirmed veteran forward Brianna Decker will be sidelined for the balance of the Olympic women's hockey tournament in Beijing after exiting Thursday's 5-2 win over Finland in the first period with a lower-body injury.
Competing in her third Winter Games, Decker yelped out in pain several times while lying on the ice after being tripped by Finland's Ronja Savolainen to the left of the American net in the first period. She was seen later on crutches next to the team's bench watching her teammates.
Savolainen hooked her leg around Decker's, and the two fell awkwardly to the ice with the Finland player landing on top of Decker. There was no penalty called.
Decker, one of three U.S. assistant captains, yelled as she was being tended to by a team doctor, and was unable to put any weight on her left leg as she was loaded on to a stretcher.
WATCH | Decker exits Olympic opener in 1st period:
Savolainen said she wasn't sure what happened, and called it "an unlucky situation" while sharing what she told Decker following the game.
"I just ask how she's feeling, and then I said, 'Sorry.' Like, I didn't want to hurt her," she said.
"I just told her, 'We got this,"' American forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said of her teammate. "No matter what she's a big part of this group. … You saw that in our response after she went down, how much we picked up the game and took control."
The 31-year-old's injury represents a significant blow to the Americans, who are trying to become the first U.S. team to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The versatile forward has been a national team staple for 11 years.
"She's one of the toughest players that I've ever played with or against," said U.S. forward Amanda Kessel, "so you know she's not staying down on the ice or crying when it's not bad. So it's definitely a gut punch. We want to win for her."
Carpenter, Schofield lead attack
Decker's injury was the second to a key player during the tournament's opening day after Canadian forward Melodie Daoust did not return after being checked hard into the boards by Sarah Foster in Canada's 12-1 rout of Switzerland.
Broadcast just replayed the injury to Brianna Decker from a different angle. Pretty terrible. That's going to be a huge loss for this team that lost several key pieces of its core to retirement before this Olympics. Decker is one of the absolute greats of recent USWNT history.
—@chrismpetersAlex Carpenter and Schofield each scored twice for the U.S.
Amanda Kessel opened the scoring by driving to the front of the net and stuffing the puck in at the 10:37 mark of the first period, 65 seconds after Decker was hurt. Carpenter then snapped in a shot from the left circle for a power-play goal after being set up by Kelly Pannek's cross-ice pass.
Schofield, the team captain, scored twice in 64 seconds to put the Americans up 4-0 by the 6:36 mark of the second period.
"There's no replacing Brianna Decker," said Schofield, the team's captain. "But in that situation, everyone stepped up to the plate in the way they were asked to. And I think that's how we were successful tonight."
Maddie Rooney stopped 10 shots in just her second game since an injury forced her to miss the world championships in August.
Finland had little response to the Americans' push after Decker was hurt. The Finns managed just one shot over the remainder of the first period. They were outshot 19-2 in the second and 52-12 overall.
Susanna Tapani scored a power-play goal 3:15 into the third, and Anni Keisala made 47 saves for Finland, which won bronze at the 2018 Games.
U.S. boasts 9-0 Olympic mark vs. Finns
Tapani's second goal came with 2:20 remaining, although it wasn't awarded until a video review was conducted after time ran out. The teams were ready to depart to their dressing rooms before they had to play the final 2:20 over again.
The Americans improved to 9-0 against Finland in Olympic play. The U.S. has Friday off before facing Russia on Saturday.
In other games Thursday, Natalie Spooner had two goals and three assists and Claire Thompson had a goal and four assists in Canada's win over the Swiss in Group A.
In Group B, Michaela Pejzlova scored on a breakaway with 13:33 left in the third period, and the Czech Republic capped its women's hockey Olympic debut with a 3-1 win over host China.
China, back in the Olympic women's competition for the first time since the 2010 Vancouver Games, was supported by a handful of delegates, VIPs, fans and energetic cheerleaders dressed in hockey sweaters at the Wukesong Sport Centre.
Japan downed Sweden as Rui Ukita capitalized on a turnover to score the go-ahead goal on a breakaway 4:03 into the third period.
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With files from CBC Sports and Reuters
