By Janina Nuno Rios
MILAN, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Switzerland will have an opportunity to match their best-ever Olympic finish in women’s ice hockey when they play for bronze after falling to a 2-1 defeat against defending champions Canada in Monday’s semi-final.
The Swiss could not build on their momentum after their quarter-final upset of Beijing bronze medallists Finland despite a feisty third-period performance, falling short in their bid to reach the final against the United States.
Canada heavily outshot Switzerland, yet the Swiss stayed within striking distance thanks to a standout performance in goal by Andrea Braendli and a late breakthrough.
“I’m pretty satisfied with our whole performance,” Braendli told reporters. “We never gave up and that’s really something. We have to keep going now in the bronze medal game.”
Switzerland will face Sweden in the bronze-medal match, with 2014 Sochi bronze medallists Alina Muller and Lara Stalder leading the charge.
The pair were part of the country’s sole Olympic medal win in women’s ice hockey when Muller became the youngest-ever Olympic hockey medallist.
Now 27, she again has her sights set on returning to the podium.
“I think we showed in the third (period) what we can do and that we can keep up and skate and create some turnovers and chances,” Muller, who assisted Rahel Enzler on Switzerland’s goal, said.
“It’s time to win another medal. We have worked for this. We’re in a really good spot. We know Sweden really well. If we play like in the third period, we have a really good chance.”
Captain Stalder echoed the determination.
“We’re definitely going for this medal,” Stalder said. “It’s great memories (from Sochi), but in the end, it was 12 years ago so it’s not going to help us when we step on the ice. We got to stay in the moment.”
The semi-final defeat marked Switzerland’s third exit at that stage in four Games, but they remain focused on the job at hand.
“We came here to win a medal,” Swiss coach Colin Muller said. “A chance is in our hands to do that. I’m pretty positive that the team is going to come out strong on Thursday.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in MilanEditing by Toby Davis)
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