The U.S. women’s hockey blowout of China on Sunday had a bit of restraint.
Jenny Potter scored three goals in the first 22 minutes while becoming the leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history, and the Americans opened the preliminary round of the women’s tournament with a 12-1 victory.
The Americans didn’t quite match Canada’s 18-0 rout of Slovakia on Saturday.
“I think we did a good job playing our game, but at the same time keeping sportsmanship in mind,” U.S. captain Natalie Darwitz said.
China allowed 11 straight goals before Jin Fengling scored on a power play with 2:21 left.
“I get uncomfortable when the score gets too lopsided,” said U.S. coach Mark Johnson, a member of the U.S. Miracle on Ice team. “I’ve been on the other end of that too many times. It can be a difficult balancing act. You certainly want to respect your opponent and the hard work they did to get here.”
