
BEIJING — Hilary Knight had a goal and assist, Alex Cavallini stopped 25 shots, and the defending Olympic champion United States defeated Finland 4-1 in the women’s hockey semifinals at the Beijing Games on Monday to set up the sixth gold-medal showdown between the Americans and Canada.
The cross-border rivals will play on Thursday after Canada erupted for five first-period goals over an Olympic record span of 3:24 in a 10-3 win over Switzerland earlier in the day. The two world powers have played for the championship in every Olympic tournament but the 2006 Turin Games, when Canada defeated Sweden after the Swedes eliminated the Americans in the semifinals.