Canada began the women's hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics with a dominant 12-1 win over Switzerland. Early Monday morning, the Canadians beat the Swiss decisively yet again by a score of 10-3 to advance to their seventh consecutive appearance in the gold medal game.
It was Claire Thompson who got the scoring started for Canada with her second goal of the tournament, followed by markers from Jamie Lee Rattray, Blayre Turnbull, Renata Fast and Erin Ambrose. The Canadians scored each of their first five goals in a window of just 3:24, which is the quickest five-goal outburst in Olympic history.
Thompson, a first-time Olympian, has been one of Canada's best players throughout the tournament, and her performance against Switzerland was particularly outstanding. The 24-year-old finished the contest with three total points, including a gorgeous assist on Turnbull's marker in the opening stanza. She's registered a pair of goals and 12 total points at the Olympics thus far, which leads all defenders competing in the women's tournament.
While the Swiss were behind for virtually the entire game, they put together an admirable response after falling behind 5-0 in the first period. Swiss captain Lara Stalder was terrific all game and scored two of Switzerland's markers in the contest. She also picked up a primary assist on Alina Mueller's tally in the second period.
Unfortunately, Stalder's heroics weren't nearly enough for the Swiss to orchestrate a comeback. Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin began imposing her will on the Swiss squad in the middle third, scoring a pair of goals, including a dazzling backhander late in the frame, to help put her squad ahead 8-3 going into the second intermission.
SEE MORE: Marie-Philip Poulin nets dazzling backhander vs. Switzerland
The Canadians extended their lead by two more scores in the final period, giving them double-digit goals in four of their six games at the Olympics.
Canada finished their semifinal tilt leading Switzerland in shots (61-13) and faceoff wins (36-27).
With Canada set to return to the gold medal game, the Swiss will compete for bronze Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. ET.
The gold medal game between Canada and the winner of the semifinal contest between Finland and the U.S. is set for 11:10 p.m. ET Wednesday night.
Click here to view all the stats from Canada's win over Switzerland, and click here to watch the full event replay from start to finish.