The U.S. Olympic women's hockey team handed a beat down to China on Sunday night by a final score of 12-1 in the first of three games in the preliminary round.
The American team was led by star Jenny Potter, whose three goals gave her the title of leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history ahead of Katie King. After taking a 7-0 lead early in the second period, the women backed off of China despite Canada's 18-0 rout of Slovakia on Saturday. (Goal differential is part of the scoring system in hockey, so the more goals you score and the less you allow, the better your team's prospects in the standings.)
"I get uncomfortable when the score gets too lopsided," U.S. coach Mark Johnson told the Associated Press.
"I've been on the other end of that too many times. … You try to do the things that make the team stronger,
get something out of the game, and move on." Johnson is best known for scoring two goals in the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game where the U.S.A. upset the heavily favored Soviet team.
The final score was far from a surprise, given that China has never beaten the U.S. in women's ice hockey over 20 matches. China is still a nation developing its ice hockey program while America's team has been a powerhouse for some time. Even the shots-against tally was lopsided, with America getting 61 shots on goal opposed to a scant seven for China. The Chinese goalie, Shi Yao, made 49 saves.
The two countries are part of the Group B pool, comprised of four teams.
The U.S. women's team is slated to battle Russia on Tuesday and finish up the preliminary round against Finland on Thursday, Feb. 18. The top two teams from each group will advance to the medal round, with the gold medal game slated for Feb. 25.
Vice President Joe Biden was in attendance along with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
