USA captain Hilary Knight (#21) creates another scoring chance, this time for Alex Carpenter (#25), during her country's victory over Switzerland.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
Hilary Knight broke Hayley Wickenheiser’s all-time record for assists at the Women’s World Championship as the USA shot down Switzerland 5-0 to wrap up the preliminary round.
Knight, the all-time Women’s Worlds scoring leader, had two helpers in the first period to join Wickenheiser on 49. Tessa Janecke was the beneficiary on both occasions and Kendall Coyne also found the net in the opening frame as the Americans eased into a three-goal lead.
Then she claimed her 50th career helper in IIHF play right at the end of the second period. Although nobody was able to tip in Knight’s dangerous feed across the slot, the puck bounced out of the corner and Caroline Harvey collected it at the point before striding forward and shooting home from the top of the circle.
“It’s really special,” the U.S. captain said of her latest record. “All those players on the leaderboard are that I looked up to when I was younger.
“I remember my first World Championship, watching Wickenheiser step over the blue line and absolutely just rip a shot top corner on us. Okay, it's the big leagues, right?
“It’s a huge honour. It’s a testament to what we have in that room, being excited and hungry to show up every single day and compete and play for one another. But I wouldn’t be able to do it without some old linemates: Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Alex Carpenter.”
Knight’s linemate Alex Carpenter, who also had three assists in the game, was quick to pay tribute to a great colleague.
“Hilary’s awesome,” she said. “There’s not really any way to explain it. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with her for many years now and you learn so much from playing with her. To be able to share the ice with her is quite the honour.
“But more important than that, she’s a friend. She’s a really special person.”
The USA was on top from the start, and Switzerland’s resistance lasted little over 10 minutes. The Swiss have the weakest penalty kill in Ceske Budejovice and when Stefanie Wetli sat for roughing, the Americans needed less than a minute to score a third power play goal on the Alpine nation. The puck moved neatly around the Swiss zone and Knight set up Alex Carpenter for a shot that bounced back off Andrea Braendli’s pads for Janecke to convert the rebound.
Barely a minute later it was 2-0. Coyne did the hard work down the left and reaped the reward when Kelly Pannek’s shot cannoned off the boards to present her with a simple finish into an open net.
Then Knight teed up Janecke for a tight-angle shot that got through Braendli to make it 3-0 on 15:05. That tied Wickenheiser’s record, established at the Canadian legend’s final World Championship in 2016.
The American dominance continued through the second period, but Switzerland defended with courage and discipline. Braendli made 20 saves before she was beaten by Harvey’s effort, while the USA’s starting goalie Gwyneth Philips made way for Ava McNaughton halfway through the session. The 20-year-old, fresh from backstopping Wisconsin to NCAA glory this season, got her first taste of World Championship action three years after her solitary game at the U18 Worlds in 2022.
It was not destined to be a baptism of fire for McNaughton. Switzerland had a solitary goal from its first three games in Ceske Budejovice and rarely threatened to add to that tally. The young netminder was called upon for just three saves as the Americans continued to dominate.
At the other end, Braendli had a busier time for the Swiss. She stood up well to hold the USA scoreless for much of the third period, before Coyne scored her second of the night to make it 5-0 with 80 seconds to play. Braendli finished the game with 48 saves. The Swiss penalty kill improved as well, withstanding two power plays to improve to 50% for the tournament.
That improvement wasn’t lost on Swiss forward Laura Zimmermann. “We started a bit nervous but we got into the game later,” she said. “It was kind of too late, but we can only learn from games like this. The defence got so much better during all the other games here and our PK is improving as well.
“It’s important we work together in the D-zone and we talk together. We did that tonight.”
At the other end, the Swiss are looking to improve on just one goal in four games. “Overall, we need to shoot more,” goaltender Braendli said. “We need to create more offensive time, which is hard. We're getting stuck in our zone a lot, but I think we need to get a little looser offensively.
“Once we hit that centre line, sometimes we tense up. We just need to loosen up, finally shoot some shots on net, and then create some traffic. And I think we'll get one or two.”
Knight, the all-time Women’s Worlds scoring leader, had two helpers in the first period to join Wickenheiser on 49. Tessa Janecke was the beneficiary on both occasions and Kendall Coyne also found the net in the opening frame as the Americans eased into a three-goal lead.
Then she claimed her 50th career helper in IIHF play right at the end of the second period. Although nobody was able to tip in Knight’s dangerous feed across the slot, the puck bounced out of the corner and Caroline Harvey collected it at the point before striding forward and shooting home from the top of the circle.
There was a moment’s wait to confirm that the puck hit the net before the hooter, but the goal was good and Knight moved clear as all-time leader for assists (50), goals (67) and points (117).
“It’s really special,” the U.S. captain said of her latest record. “All those players on the leaderboard are that I looked up to when I was younger.
“I remember my first World Championship, watching Wickenheiser step over the blue line and absolutely just rip a shot top corner on us. Okay, it's the big leagues, right?
“It’s a huge honour. It’s a testament to what we have in that room, being excited and hungry to show up every single day and compete and play for one another. But I wouldn’t be able to do it without some old linemates: Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Alex Carpenter.”
Knight’s linemate Alex Carpenter, who also had three assists in the game, was quick to pay tribute to a great colleague.
“Hilary’s awesome,” she said. “There’s not really any way to explain it. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with her for many years now and you learn so much from playing with her. To be able to share the ice with her is quite the honour.
“But more important than that, she’s a friend. She’s a really special person.”
The USA was on top from the start, and Switzerland’s resistance lasted little over 10 minutes. The Swiss have the weakest penalty kill in Ceske Budejovice and when Stefanie Wetli sat for roughing, the Americans needed less than a minute to score a third power play goal on the Alpine nation. The puck moved neatly around the Swiss zone and Knight set up Alex Carpenter for a shot that bounced back off Andrea Braendli’s pads for Janecke to convert the rebound.
Barely a minute later it was 2-0. Coyne did the hard work down the left and reaped the reward when Kelly Pannek’s shot cannoned off the boards to present her with a simple finish into an open net.
Then Knight teed up Janecke for a tight-angle shot that got through Braendli to make it 3-0 on 15:05. That tied Wickenheiser’s record, established at the Canadian legend’s final World Championship in 2016.
The American dominance continued through the second period, but Switzerland defended with courage and discipline. Braendli made 20 saves before she was beaten by Harvey’s effort, while the USA’s starting goalie Gwyneth Philips made way for Ava McNaughton halfway through the session. The 20-year-old, fresh from backstopping Wisconsin to NCAA glory this season, got her first taste of World Championship action three years after her solitary game at the U18 Worlds in 2022.
It was not destined to be a baptism of fire for McNaughton. Switzerland had a solitary goal from its first three games in Ceske Budejovice and rarely threatened to add to that tally. The young netminder was called upon for just three saves as the Americans continued to dominate.
At the other end, Braendli had a busier time for the Swiss. She stood up well to hold the USA scoreless for much of the third period, before Coyne scored her second of the night to make it 5-0 with 80 seconds to play. Braendli finished the game with 48 saves. The Swiss penalty kill improved as well, withstanding two power plays to improve to 50% for the tournament.
That improvement wasn’t lost on Swiss forward Laura Zimmermann. “We started a bit nervous but we got into the game later,” she said. “It was kind of too late, but we can only learn from games like this. The defence got so much better during all the other games here and our PK is improving as well.
“It’s important we work together in the D-zone and we talk together. We did that tonight.”
At the other end, the Swiss are looking to improve on just one goal in four games. “Overall, we need to shoot more,” goaltender Braendli said. “We need to create more offensive time, which is hard. We're getting stuck in our zone a lot, but I think we need to get a little looser offensively.
“Once we hit that centre line, sometimes we tense up. We just need to loosen up, finally shoot some shots on net, and then create some traffic. And I think we'll get one or two.”