Even though the Opening Ceremonies does not start until Friday, there are two days of curling, women’s hockey and team figure skating before the cauldron is lit. On Thursday, there will be three draws of mixed doubles curling, and some significant games played in women’s hockey.
The biggest women’s hockey game will be the United States and Finland (8 a.m. ET). The game will be a rematch of the 2019 Women’s World Hockey Championship in Espoo, Finland, which was won by the United States 2-1 in a shootout. The game was extremely controversial because it appeared Finland had initially won the game in overtime. Petra Nieminen had scored, but the goal was called back because Jenni Hiirikoski was called for goaltender interference. In another ironic twist, it was American goaltender Alex Rigsby, who was called for a two-minute tripping penalty. The United States continued their dominance over Finland in international play in Calgary in August at the 2021 Women’s World Hockey Championship, as they came away with a 3-0 win over Finland in Group A action, and then another 3-0 win in the semifinals. Nicole Hensley of Littleton, Colorado notched a shutout in each American win.
The other women’s hockey games have Canada versus Switzerland, Sweden versus Japan, and the Czech Republic versus China. Canada is the reigning world champion.
In mixed doubles curling, the American team of Vicky Persinger of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Chris Plys of Duluth, Minnesota play twice as they play Italy (8.p.m. ET on Wednesday), and Norway (1 a.m. ET on Thursday), after defeating Australia 6-5 on Wednesday. This is the second Olympic Mixed Doubles Curling tournament. This year the event has been extended from eight to 10 teams. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, the Russian team was stripped of their bronze medal when Alexander Krushelnitskiy failed a doping test. In the process, Norway won Olympic bronze.
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