Canada’s Milano Cortina 2026 debut was worth the wait.
With a goal and an assist from Sarah Fillier, the Canadian women’s hockey team defeated Switzerland 4-0 in its first game of preliminary round action.
After controlling a rebound off the boards, Fillier made a dish into the empty side of the net to notch a power-play goal early in the third period.
Natalie Spooner opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the second. She was added to the team as the 13th forward, specifically there to flex her power-play skills.
Julia Gosling added a third power-play goal for Canada. Canada’s national team last convened for the 2025 Rivalry Series where they struggled against the United States. The power play was one of the key pain points in that series, so the success of special teams on Saturday shows a big improvement.
Daryl Watts scored in her Olympic debut to increase Canada’s lead to 4-0 late in the third.
Emerance Maschmeyer recorded a shutout with the win. It was her second-ever Olympic shutout after she recorded one at Beijing 2022 in a quarterfinal game against Sweden.
Switzerland’s netminder Saskia Maurer made 51 saves in the loss. Canada outshot Switzerland 55-6.
