U.S. women’s hockey play Russia without Brianna Decker.
The U.S. hockey team is facing the Russian Olympic Committee on Saturday without one of its star players.
Brianna Decker, a three-time Olympian who led the U.S. in assists during its gold medal run at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, is out for the remainder of the Olympics after a collision with Ronja Savolainen of Finland earlier this week.
While the absence of Decker will hurt, the U.S. team’s deep bench includes other players who have made multiple Olympic appearances. Kendall Coyne Schofield, a forward and the U.S. captain, is known as one of the world’s fastest skaters. Hilary Knight, a fearsome forward, is credited with 219 points over her career with the U.S. national team. And Maddie Rooney, the goalie, helped deliver a shootout victory against Canada in the 2018 gold medal game.
The Russians aren’t much better off. The team lost six of their original 23-player roster because of athletes testing positive for the coronavirus, including the team’s captain, Olga Sosina. The Russians were in isolation in the Olympic Village from Monday to Wednesday because of a large outbreak. They still won the opening group game against Switzerland, 5-2. The U.S. plays Switzerland in the next round of group games on Sunday.
The tournament’s format guarantees the Americans a spot beyond the preliminary round, along with the Canadians, Finns, Russians and Swiss. The gold medal game is set for Feb. 17.
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