American Hilary Knight picked up two points in her country’s outright victory over Hungary, edging out Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser as the all-time leading scorer at the Women’s World Hockey Championship on Thursday in Denmark.
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The 33-year-old striker, in her 11th World Cup, increased her total to 87 points, one more than the legendary Maple Leaf captain. It was a third-period goal, USA’s 11th in a 12-1 win, that put Knight in the history book.
The California native had equaled the record of 86 points earlier in the meeting by being an accomplice of the net of Hannah Bilka. She had collected another assist on Caroline Harvey’s goal, but it was finally withdrawn after verification.
The representatives of the United States have never been worried in this quarter-final match. They bombarded the Hungarian cage with 69 shots, allowing only 10 shots. One of them, that of Alexandra Huszak, nevertheless made its way behind goalkeeper Nicole Hensley in the third period.
Taylor Heise stood out for the Americans with a hat trick and an assist. Her teammate Amanda Kessel did even better with five assists. The United States notably hit the target nine times in the second period.
Quite a surprise from the Czechs
For the first time in 21 tournaments, the Finns will not be semi-finals. They were defeated 2-1 in extra time by the Czechs.
Aneta Tejralova needed just 41 seconds of extra time to make the difference by beating goalkeeper Anni Keisala, sending an explosion of joy through the Czech ranks.
Less dominant historically in women than in men, the Czech Republic had never made it to the aces of the World Championship, obtaining their best result in 2016 with a sixth place.
Finland had never been left out of the top 4. They are the third most decorated country at the event, having won one silver and 13 bronze across the years.
In the first game of the day, Switzerland also reached the semi-finals needing the penalty shootout to defeat Japan 2-1. Fourth in 2021, the Swiss players will have the opportunity to play for a rare medal, they who had finished on the third step of the podium in 2012.