February 16 Olympic Journal: The United States Women Are Good At Hockey and America Gets Its Mojo Back
February 16 at the Olympics saw the United States finally win two medals in the monobob. The United States also advanced to the women’s hockey gold medal match. The team earned its fifth consecutive shutout and might be one of the best hockey teams ever.
One really cannot say enough about the United States Olympic Women’s Hockey team. They have outscored their opponents 31-1 in this tournament and will face Canada in the gold medal game on Thursday. Who do you think will win?
February 16 Olympic Medal Table
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Norway | 12 | 7 | 9 |
| Italy | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| United States | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Austria | 5 | 7 | 3 |
| Sweden | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Germany | 4 | 7 | 6 |
The United States, before the two medals in the women’s monobob, briefly fell into fourth place overall in medals. It is fair to wonder if the United States will stay in third place. With a gold rush coming, the United States will win quite a few more medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
United States Women’s Hockey Team
The dominant American women’s hockey team defeated Sweden today 5-0 to earn its fifth consecutive shutout and advance to the gold medal game. The United States defeated Canada 5-0 in pool play.
In this game against Sweden, Cayla Barnes scored in the first period. Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne, and Hayley Scamurra all scored in the second period to seal the 5-0 American victory. They have not allowed a goal in more than 330 minutes.
The United States women have dominated February, but why? They do the three things teams need to do to win hockey games. First, they take and block shots. They outshot the Swedes today, 34-25. Simply, you cannot score if you do not shoot, and your opponent cannot score if their shots never reach the net.
Second, they win puck battles along the boards. These battles are ubiquitous in hockey. Good teams tighten the screws and come away with the puck. Possession is very important in hockey, so winning these puck battles is important. They are an indicator of individual skill.
Third, there is checking and hitting in women’s Olympic hockey, and a team must finish its checks. The reason for this is that a player must take an opposing player out of the play. Finishing checks is a way to do that. If you watch, the American women almost always finish their checks.
Monobob Medals For the United States
The United States won gold and bronze medals in the one-woman bobsled event. Coming into this race, the United States was considered strong, and that played out in this race. Elana Meyers Taylor won the gold medal in the race, and 41-year-old-Kaillie Armbruster Humphries won the bronze medal in that race. As a matter of fact, Humphries was only eight thousandths of a second behind the silver medal winner, Germany’s Laura Nolte.
Parting Shots
Today was entertaining, especially watching the United States women’s hockey team. They are probably one of the best hockey teams ever, and are on a dominant run. It was good to see the United States get back on the medal trail in the Olympics after going two days without winning one. They should win more at these Olympics.
