Scamurra scores 2, and U.S. opens women's Olympic hockey tournament with 5-1 win over Czechia

MILAN (AP) — Of all the elite players making up the U.S. women’s national team’s roster, coach John Wroblewski insisted the one he couldn’t do without at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games was Hayley Scamurra.

It’s a decision Wroblewski made upon taking over the team four years ago. and one immediately validated in the Americans’ 5-1 Olympic tournament-opening win over Czechia.

Scamurra — regarded as the team’s 13th “Jill-of-all-trades” forward — scored twice while logging just 6:45 minutes of ice time over 11 shifts.

“I was adamant with it. We weren’t going to Milan without her at the start of this quad. She carries so much spirit to your team,” Wroblewski said. “I’m not gonna speak for every other federation, but I just can’t image there’s anyone that works harder and wants it more than she does. It’s inspiring, frankly.”

The 31-year-old from Buffalo, New York, is the daughter of former NHL defenseman Peter Scamurra. And though she built a reputation of being a top defensive forward during her four-year college career at Northeastern, Scamurra went mostly overlooked by USA Hockey until making the national team in 2019.

And now she’s doubled her goal total in making her second Olympic appearance after winning silver in 2022.

“I just do my best to bring that energy in every shift that I have. It feels a little extra special to be able to help on the scoreboard and physically, too,” Scamurra said before addressing her journey.

“Honestly I think it just shows it’s never too late to keep chasing your dreams,” she said. “So I think, it just shows with hard work that anything is possible for sure.”

Alex Carpenter had a goal and assist, and captain Hilary Knight and Joy Dunne also scored for the Americans, who improved to 8-0 over the Czechs in international play. Aerin Frankel, making her Olympic debut in net, stopped 13 shots.

Laila Edwards had an assist while becoming the first Black female to represent America in hockey at the Olympics.

Barbora Jurickova scored Czechia’s lone goal. She was set up on a breakaway as she exited the penalty box to cut the Americans lead to 3-1 midway through the second period. Klara Peslarova finished with 37 saves in an outing Czechia was out-shot 31-9 through two periods.

The day’s only other scheduled Group A game between defending Olympic champion Canada and Finland was postponed to Feb. 12. The Finns’ roster was down to eight skaters and two goalies, with the remaining 13 players dealing with a stomach virus that hit the team on Tuesday.

The Americans were greeted a loud cheer and a “U-S-A!” chant began at puck drop.

Among those on hand in a nearly packed 5,000-plus seat Rho Ice Hockey Arena, were U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived about 12 minutes in, and departed with just over six minutes remaining. The large delegation that included USA Hockey officials and a security detail, filled a section of seats directly behind the penalty box and immediately opposite the U.S. bench.

Carpenter opened the scoring with a power-play goal with 4:05 left in the first period. The tournament-favored Americans then blew the game open with three goals in the second period in building a 4-1 lead.

Scamurra’s first goal put the U.S. up 3-1 and came when she dug the puck out of a scrum to the right of the net, and got a low shot off to beat Peslarova through the legs. She then closed the scoring in the third period, by one-timing in a pass from Kelly Pannek.

“Honestly, it’s inspiring,” Knight said of Scamurra. “You can put her anywhere. ... I was hoping she’d get a third to be honest.”

The Czechs are making their second Olympic appearance after debuting in 2022, and have quickly risen to become a power in the four years under coach Carla MacLeod. Czechia has won two bronze medals and finished fourth twice over the past four world championships.

MacLeod called the outing a foundation her players can build on.

“You’re not worried, sort of, about the outcome at this point. You’re just are we generating chances? Are we playing our way? Are believing in what we’re doing?” she said. ” And I saw all that. And for me, that’s a great thing for us, as we continue to build and get better.”

Next up for the U.S. is facing Finland on Saturday, and the uncertainty of how many Finns will be healthy enough to play.

“I hope that they’re OK, let’s just leave it at that. That’s the most important part,” Wroblewski said.

In an earlier Group B game, Lina Ljungblom scored twice in Sweden’s 4-1 comeback win over Germany. The win already puts the Swedes in the driver’s seat to win their pool and secure a better seeding for the quarterfinals.

Host team Italy defeated France 4-1 to post its first victory in making its second Olympic appearance. France is making its Olympic debut. The game was the played at the main rink, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which faced scrutiny over construction delays.

AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this story.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sweden's Lina Ljungblom, center right, scores her sides opening goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, Pool)

Czechia's Klara Seroiszkova slides into Czechia's Klara Peslarova, right, as United States' Hilary Knight scores her sides fourth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States' Grace Zumwinkle, center, celebrates a goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Sun Fei/Pool Photo via AP)

United States' Hilary Knight, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides fourth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States' Hayley Scamurra, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides fifth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic will miss the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers' regular season with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, the team announced Friday.

Doncic is the NBA's top scorer and the driving force behind the Lakers' surge into the third spot in the Western Conference standings, but he injured his leg during Los Angeles' blowout loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday. An MRI exam revealed the severity of the strain.

The Pacific Division champion Lakers (50-27) have just five games left before the postseason, starting Sunday at Dallas.

Grade 2 hamstring strains sometimes require several weeks of recovery, but Doncic also has prior experience with hamstring issues. He missed four games right before the All-Star break with another left hamstring strain, but returned to the lineup after the break.

Doncic is putting up spectacular numbers in his first full season with the Lakers, who acquired the Slovenian superstar from the Mavericks last season. He is averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game for Los Angeles, and he was named the NBA's Western Conference player of the month for March after racking up 13 consecutive 30-point performances, including seven 40-point games, a 51-point barrage against Chicago and a 60-point masterclass in Miami.

Doncic scored a whopping 600 points in March, becoming only the 10th player in NBA history to hit that mark in one month. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves have also played well down the stretch, the Lakers thoroughly depend on Doncic, who either scored or assisted on 58% of the their total points in March.

Doncic is all but certain to win his second NBA scoring title — but he has played in only 64 games this season, which means he will finish one game shy of the 65-game threshold to be eligible for the NBA's biggest postseason awards.

He was a lock to be an All-NBA selection, and he had even been making a late run at consideration for the MVP award with his outstanding play down the stretch.

Along with his two absences caused by hamstring injuries and a handful of additional absences for minor medical maintenance early in the season, Doncic missed two games last December while flying to Slovenia for the birth of his second child. He also missed one game last week under suspension for accumulating 16 technical fouls.

Since he sits just shy of the 65-game threshold, Doncic theoretically could challenge the rule by citing the extraordinary circumstances of his daughter's birth in Europe through the grievance process created for these collectively bargained rules. It's wholly unclear whether that appeal would have any chance of success.

If Doncic wins the scoring title but doesn't make the All-NBA teams, he would be only the third scoring champ in league history to fail to do so. Elvin Hayes wasn't selected when he won the crown as a rookie in 1969, and Bob McAdoo wasn't chosen for the teams in 1976.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic was injured in the first half against the Thunder, but was cleared to return to the game while his team was getting plastered by the defending NBA champion Thunder. Doncic lasted only about four minutes before he spun, stopped and went down on the court in pain, leading to his departure.

The loss was only the Lakers' third in 19 games since Feb. 26, but Doncic's absence casts a cloud of uncertainty over the rest of their year. Los Angeles only leads fourth-place Denver (49-28) by one game, while sixth-place Minnesota (46-30) is 3 1/2 games back with a game in hand.

The Lakers’ regular-season finale is next Sunday, April 12, at home against Utah. Their first-round playoff series is expected to start the following weekend.

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures after a three-point basket against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is fouled by Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) as Magic forward Tristan da Silva, right, helps defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)