Malene Frandsen scored Denmark's first ever goal in hockey at the Olympics (men or women).
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
It wasn’t until Silke Glud scored in the third period last November 21 in Fussen that Denmark qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Her goal tied the game against host Germany, 2-2, and although the Germans went on to win in a shootout, the one point in the standings was enough for the Danes to book their flights to China.
That also meant Denmark became the 15th team to make it to the Olympics since the women’s game became a medal sport in 1998. And last night’s close 3-1 loss to China will forever go down in history as their first game in Olympic competition. One day earlier the Czechs had their Olympic women’s ice hockey debut with a 3-1 win against host China.
Here is a quick look at the first game of the other 13 nations to have played at the five-ringed circus the 20 years between 1998 and 2018.
Finland & Sweden, 1998
Game 1 of the ’98 Olympics. The Nordic rivals met on 8 February 1998 to kick off the first Olympics, and the Finns easily took care of their neighbours to the tune of 6-0. Johanna Ikonen had two goals while Tia Reima had a goal and an assist. Tuula Puputti earned the shutout while Annica Ahlen gave up all six goals in the Sweden goal. The Finns had won bronze at the first four Women’s Worlds and went on to win bronze here as well.
Canada & Japan, 1998
Game 2 of the ’98 Olympics. The Canadians were heavy favourites going in to Nagano, having won gold at the first four Women’s Worlds (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997), and they started strong, with a 13-0 pasting of Japan. Danielle Goyette had a hat trick and an assist while Stacy Wilson had a goal and three helpers. Both teams used two goalies. Coach Shannon Miller took out Lesley Reddon after 31:15 and gave Manon Rheaume the back half of the game, while at the other end Yuka Oda surrendered the first seven goals and gave way to Haruka Watanabe for the last four minutes of the second period (two goals) before returning for the third.
China & United States, 1998
The third game of 8 February 1998 pitted the political superpowers of the world taking their rivalry to the ice. The Americans won, 5-0, thanks to two goals from captain and future Hall of Famer Cammi Granato. Three players chipped in with a goal and an assist – Tara Mounsey, Karyn Bye (later Dietz), and Jenny Schmidgall (later Potter). Sarah Tueting was perfect in the American goal while the “China Wall,” Hong Guo, starred in the China goal.
Germany, 2002
The host nation USA gave Germany a rude welcoming to women’s Olympic hockey, sticking a 10-0 score to their history books on 12 February 2002 at the E-Center. Karyn Bye had a pair of goals and two assists to lead the way, while Sara DeCosta posted the shutout by stopping just eight shots. In fact, Germany had to wait until late in their second game to score their first goal, that coming off the stick of Julia Wierscher.
Kazakhstan, 2002
The Kazakhs had qualified for Salt Lake with an historic 2-1 win over Germany on the final day of round robin competition in Engelberg, Switzerland a year earlier, but they received a nasty debut when they got to the E-Center for their first Olympic game, against Canada, on 11 Febraury. The score was 7-0, and shots were 66-11 for the winners. Hayley Wickenheiser had two goals and an assist, and Kim St. Pierre registered the easy shutout. At the other end, Natalya Trunova was heroic, stopping 59 shots.
Russia, 2002
On the same day Kazakhstan played, the Russians faced Sweden in their first-ever Olympics game, at The Peaks arena in Provo, Utah, just outside Salt Lake. They came close, but ultimately fell, 3-2, after their comeback fell short. Sweden built a 3-0 lead early in the second, but Russia came back with two goals later in the period. A scoreless third sealed their fate. Yekaterina Pashkevich scored their first ever goal.
Italy, 2006
Well, it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but hindsight can be a devil. Italy opted to play at the Olympics, qualifying as the host nation, but in 2005 they were ranked 17th in the world of women’s hockey and were out of their depths at the Games. Their inaugural game was against Canada on 11 February, and it ended in a 16-0 route. Some 15 players on the Canadian team had at least one point, Cherie Piper leading the way with a record six (one goal, five assists). Caroline Oullette had a hat trick, and the Italians split the goaltending duties between Luana Frasnelli and Debora Montanari. Italy finished the tournament with five losses and a goals difference of 3-49. It was their one and only appearance at the Games. The good news for Milan 2026 is that Italy has improved in recent years.
Switzerland, 2006
Another debut, another shutout loss. This time the Swiss took a 6-0 thumping at the hands of the U.S. on 11 February. Along the way the Americans netted a goal while two players short, Tricia Dunn scoring the unassisted marker. Chanda Gunn got the shutout, and the Swiss went on to finish 7th. They have been to every Olympic since.
Slovakia, 2010
Slovakia’s Olympics debut drew plenty of conversation. On 13 February, Canada won by a record 18-0 margin, a result that led to serious concern over the viability of the women’s game, which lacked competitive balance after the North Americans. But some women felt the Slovaks deserved this humiliation because during the qualification for Vancouver, the Slovaks beat Bulgaria 82-0. That’s not a typo – 82 goals (31-0, 24-0, 27-0)! In that game, Janka Culikova had 10 goals and 7 assists, and Maria Herichova had 18 points (8+10). Slovakia finished last in Vancouver and has yet to qualify for another Olympics.
Korea, 2018
Like Italy in 2006, Korea played the hosting card to qualify for these Olympics. And as in 2006, it didn’t go well. More important than the scores, though, this Korean team consisted of players from the North and South, making their dual participation reason enough to support the cause. It was the first time a Unified Korean team played at the Olympics. Still, their first game was an 8-0 loss to the Swiss. Florence Schelling stopped just eight shots for the shutout, and Alina Muller had a record-tying four goals and six points. Forward Heewon Kim played more than 15 minutes and had a zero rating in the plus/minus, a rather remarkable achievement given that every other player on the team (except Su Sie Jo, who played only four minutes) was a minus in this stat.
That also meant Denmark became the 15th team to make it to the Olympics since the women’s game became a medal sport in 1998. And last night’s close 3-1 loss to China will forever go down in history as their first game in Olympic competition. One day earlier the Czechs had their Olympic women’s ice hockey debut with a 3-1 win against host China.
Here is a quick look at the first game of the other 13 nations to have played at the five-ringed circus the 20 years between 1998 and 2018.
Finland & Sweden, 1998
Game 1 of the ’98 Olympics. The Nordic rivals met on 8 February 1998 to kick off the first Olympics, and the Finns easily took care of their neighbours to the tune of 6-0. Johanna Ikonen had two goals while Tia Reima had a goal and an assist. Tuula Puputti earned the shutout while Annica Ahlen gave up all six goals in the Sweden goal. The Finns had won bronze at the first four Women’s Worlds and went on to win bronze here as well.
Canada & Japan, 1998
Game 2 of the ’98 Olympics. The Canadians were heavy favourites going in to Nagano, having won gold at the first four Women’s Worlds (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997), and they started strong, with a 13-0 pasting of Japan. Danielle Goyette had a hat trick and an assist while Stacy Wilson had a goal and three helpers. Both teams used two goalies. Coach Shannon Miller took out Lesley Reddon after 31:15 and gave Manon Rheaume the back half of the game, while at the other end Yuka Oda surrendered the first seven goals and gave way to Haruka Watanabe for the last four minutes of the second period (two goals) before returning for the third.
China & United States, 1998
The third game of 8 February 1998 pitted the political superpowers of the world taking their rivalry to the ice. The Americans won, 5-0, thanks to two goals from captain and future Hall of Famer Cammi Granato. Three players chipped in with a goal and an assist – Tara Mounsey, Karyn Bye (later Dietz), and Jenny Schmidgall (later Potter). Sarah Tueting was perfect in the American goal while the “China Wall,” Hong Guo, starred in the China goal.
Germany, 2002
The host nation USA gave Germany a rude welcoming to women’s Olympic hockey, sticking a 10-0 score to their history books on 12 February 2002 at the E-Center. Karyn Bye had a pair of goals and two assists to lead the way, while Sara DeCosta posted the shutout by stopping just eight shots. In fact, Germany had to wait until late in their second game to score their first goal, that coming off the stick of Julia Wierscher.
Kazakhstan, 2002
The Kazakhs had qualified for Salt Lake with an historic 2-1 win over Germany on the final day of round robin competition in Engelberg, Switzerland a year earlier, but they received a nasty debut when they got to the E-Center for their first Olympic game, against Canada, on 11 Febraury. The score was 7-0, and shots were 66-11 for the winners. Hayley Wickenheiser had two goals and an assist, and Kim St. Pierre registered the easy shutout. At the other end, Natalya Trunova was heroic, stopping 59 shots.
Russia, 2002
On the same day Kazakhstan played, the Russians faced Sweden in their first-ever Olympics game, at The Peaks arena in Provo, Utah, just outside Salt Lake. They came close, but ultimately fell, 3-2, after their comeback fell short. Sweden built a 3-0 lead early in the second, but Russia came back with two goals later in the period. A scoreless third sealed their fate. Yekaterina Pashkevich scored their first ever goal.
Italy, 2006
Well, it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but hindsight can be a devil. Italy opted to play at the Olympics, qualifying as the host nation, but in 2005 they were ranked 17th in the world of women’s hockey and were out of their depths at the Games. Their inaugural game was against Canada on 11 February, and it ended in a 16-0 route. Some 15 players on the Canadian team had at least one point, Cherie Piper leading the way with a record six (one goal, five assists). Caroline Oullette had a hat trick, and the Italians split the goaltending duties between Luana Frasnelli and Debora Montanari. Italy finished the tournament with five losses and a goals difference of 3-49. It was their one and only appearance at the Games. The good news for Milan 2026 is that Italy has improved in recent years.
Switzerland, 2006
Another debut, another shutout loss. This time the Swiss took a 6-0 thumping at the hands of the U.S. on 11 February. Along the way the Americans netted a goal while two players short, Tricia Dunn scoring the unassisted marker. Chanda Gunn got the shutout, and the Swiss went on to finish 7th. They have been to every Olympic since.
Slovakia, 2010
Slovakia’s Olympics debut drew plenty of conversation. On 13 February, Canada won by a record 18-0 margin, a result that led to serious concern over the viability of the women’s game, which lacked competitive balance after the North Americans. But some women felt the Slovaks deserved this humiliation because during the qualification for Vancouver, the Slovaks beat Bulgaria 82-0. That’s not a typo – 82 goals (31-0, 24-0, 27-0)! In that game, Janka Culikova had 10 goals and 7 assists, and Maria Herichova had 18 points (8+10). Slovakia finished last in Vancouver and has yet to qualify for another Olympics.
Korea, 2018
Like Italy in 2006, Korea played the hosting card to qualify for these Olympics. And as in 2006, it didn’t go well. More important than the scores, though, this Korean team consisted of players from the North and South, making their dual participation reason enough to support the cause. It was the first time a Unified Korean team played at the Olympics. Still, their first game was an 8-0 loss to the Swiss. Florence Schelling stopped just eight shots for the shutout, and Alina Muller had a record-tying four goals and six points. Forward Heewon Kim played more than 15 minutes and had a zero rating in the plus/minus, a rather remarkable achievement given that every other player on the team (except Su Sie Jo, who played only four minutes) was a minus in this stat.