February 19 Olympic Journal: United States Women Win Gold in Hockey, Jordan Stolz Wins Silver And Curling Standings
February 19 was another great day in the Olympics. The American women won gold in ice hockey, defeating the Canadians 2-1 in overtime. Speedskater Jordan Stolz came up a bit short in the 1500, winning the silver medal. We will also review the curling standings.
The biggest story of these Olympics so far was the American win over Canada in the gold medal match, which went to overtime. Not only was this a good hockey game, but with the United States’ dominance so far and the sudden acrimony between the two countries. When do you think Canada will beat the United States in Hockey?
February 19 Olympic Medal Table
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Norway | 16 | 8 | 10 |
| United States | 9 | 12 | 6 |
| Italy | 9 | 5 | 12 |
| France | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| Sweden | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Switzerland | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Germany | 5 | 5 | 8 |
With the United States winning medals on February 19, it moved into second place overall in the nation-state medal count. There are likely more medals coming for the United States, so it will be interesting to see where they end up.
United States Women Win Gold in Ice Hockey
The United States defeated the Canadians in ice hockey 2-1 in overtime on February 19. This was a great game. When the Canadians scored, the goal ended a little over 512 scoreless minutes for the United States; the overtime winner made that alright. The Canadians played a much better game than the one against the United States in pool play.
Many people thought this would be the final in the women’s hockey tournament. Also, many people did not give the Canadians much of a chance. They played well, just not well enough. Kudos to Canadian goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens, who put on a lights-out performance through the first period.
This was a nip-and-tuck sort of game. The United States had a great chance to break the scoreless first period with a power play at the start of the second. Instead, Laura Stacey and Kristin O’Neill combined for a shorthanded goal. That goal held until there were about 90 seconds left in the game on this February day.
Team USA captain Hilary Knight, in her final game at the Olympics, sent a shot to tie the game at 1-all. Knight deflected Laila Edwards’ shot past Desbiens with 2:04 left in regulation, and the United States was skating 6 on 5 with goaltender Aerin Frankel pulled for an extra attacker. The goal was her 15th at the Olympics, the most in team history.
The game ended when Megan Kellar scored in overtime, giving the United States the walk-off win. Just over four minutes into the overtime period, Keller stick handled around Canadian Claire Thompson and flipped a slick shot over the right pad of Desbiens to send the Americans into a frenzy.
Jordan Stolz Silver
In a bit of an upset, American wonderkid speedskater Jordan Stolz earned the silver medal on February 19. He was behind the new Olympic Record holder, Ning Zhongyan of China. Stolz now has two gold medals and this silver. He still has the Mass Start race on Saturday.
Curling Standings
As of February 19, the curling tournaments were wrapping up. The United States women advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Switzerland. The two teams will match up in the semifinals. Here is a look at the women’s standings.
1 – Sweden (6-1)
2 – Switzerland (5-2)
2 – United States (5-2)
4 – Canada (4-3)
4 – South Korea (4-3)
6 – Denmark (3-4)
7 – China (2-4)
7 – Great Britain (2-4)
9 – Italy (2-5)
10 – Japan (1-5)
The men, however, are unlikely to qualify. They have a .500 record and are in the middle of the standings.
Men’s Curling Standings
1 – Switzerland (Q) (7-0)
2 – Canada (Q) (6-1)
3 – Italy (4-3)
3 – Norway (4-3)
5 – Great Britain (4-4)
5 – United States (4-4)
7 – Germany (3-5)
8 – China (2-5)
9 – Sweden (2-6)
10 – Czechia (1-6)
Parting Shots
The biggest story of this February day was the United States women winning the gold medal in Ice Hockey. In fact, that may have been the biggest story of the Olympics so far. American speedskater Jordan Stolz was upset in the 1500-meter speedskating race. He won the silver medal. Also, the curling tournaments are wrapping up.
