![USA’s Amanda Kessel (R) scores a goal past Finland’s goaltender Anni Keisala during their women’s preliminary round group A match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition, at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing on February 3, 2022. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)](https://media.nbcchicago.com/2022/02/GettyImages-1238158990.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=320%2C180)
The United States women’s hockey team is hoping to get their quest for a second-straight Olympic gold medal off to a good start, and Amanda Kessel made sure that’s exactly what happened as she scored the team’s first goal of the tournament.
Kessel, a Madison, Wisconsin-native and a long-time contributor to the U.S. squad, notched the power play tally in the first period of Thursday’s game against Finland:
On the play, Savannah Harmon skated into the zone and carried the puck all the way around the net before finding Kessel open on the goal line. The forward then saw an open lane, drove hard to the front of the cage and pounded the puck home to give the United States the early lead.
Alex Carpenter also scored in the first period for the U.S. squad, rifling home a shot that put the Americans up by two goals over the team that captured the bronze medal during the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
You can catch the rest of the game here:
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