US beat Swiss 9-0 in Olympic women´s hockey

SOCHI, Russia: U.S. forward Amanda Kessel appeared to score for her first Olympic hat trick, only to watch the referee skate over to the boards for a video review.

But the ref had missed a goal by Kendall Coyne a few minutes earlier, so that one counted and Kessel´s had to come off the board.

"It was pretty weird, but I saw Kendall´s goal go in," Kessel said after settling for two scores in the Americans´ 9-0 victory over Switzerland on Monday. "It was her first one of the tournament, so I was happy for my linemate."

The Americans had more goals than they needed, anyway, getting scores from Monique Lamoureux, Brianna Decker and Kessel within 55 seconds of each other in the first period to all but clinch a spot in the Olympic women´s hockey semifinals.

It was the quickest three-goal sequence in Olympic history, with the latst two coming just eight seconds apart. Kessel also had an assist on Coyne´s goal and another in the first period.

Lamoureux and Coyne also scored twice for the Americans, and Molly Schaus made 10 saves in her Sochi debut. With a 2-0 record, the U.S. is in position for a spot in the medal round regardless of what happens on Wednesday in the game against Canada, the marquee matchup of the round-robin.

Canada was scheduled to play Finland on Monday night in its last tuneup before the North American grudge match.

Switzerland lost for the second time and likely is headed for a spot in the quarterfinals against one of the top two teams in the bottom-tier.
Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter also scored for the United States, which led 5-0 after one period and outshot the Swiss 53-10.

Florence Schelling, who played at Northeastern, made 44 saves for Switzerland against Schaus, of Boston College, on the morning of the Beanpot finals where their schools will play for the men´s hockey bragging rights of Boston. (AP)