Hilary Knight ties US Olympic goal record in 5-0 win over Finland team coming off stomach virus

MILAN (AP) — Every goal still feels special for Hilary Knight, no matter how many USA Hockey’s most decorated woman has scored in her record-setting career.

Saturday night was no different for the 36-year-old appearing in her U.S. women’s hockey-best fifth Olympics.

With U.S. Vice President JD Vance and family cheering along, Knight scored to tie the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey career goal mark, and the Americans wore down a Finland opponent that spent much of the week dealing with a stomach virus in a 5-0 win at the Milan Cortina Games.

“I just love scoring and just the pure elation of finding the back of the net,” Knight said. “It’s just a little kid moment that when you score it’s pure excitement and it’s fun to celebrate.”

The goal scored 9:17 into the second period that put the U.S. up 4-0 was Knight’s 14th to match the record shared by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.

“Those are some legendary players, and just to be in the same sentence as them is super special,” said Knight, whose 29 career points in the Winter Games are only three back of matching Jenny Potter on the U.S. list.

Defender Megan Keller had a goal and two assists, while Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy also scored. Aerin Frankel stopped 11 shots for her first shutout in just her second career Olympic game.

The tournament favorite Americans (2-0) improved to 11-0 in Olympic meetings against Finland, and had just about everything going in their favor on Saturday.

The Finns returned to the ice as a full team for the first time since last being together at practice on Tuesday. That night, four players developed symptoms of a norovirus. Two days later, Finland’s 23-player roster was down to eight forwards and two goalies, prompting Olympic officials to postpone the team’s tournament opener against Canada to Feb. 12.

After canceling their morning skate on Saturday, the Finns took the ice six hours later with a full 22-player contingent.

“We know that the U.S. is a really good team. And we knew that it’s going to be a tough battle for us,” Jenni Hiirikoski said. “But I’m proud of how we were battling out there. And it’s something we will keep building.”

The Americans are tough to handle at any time, and it was a lot to ask the Finns to do so given their circumstances.

Finland came out with speed but showed signs of rustiness while struggling to handle the puck. Petra Nieminen had it slide off her stick on a potential break two minutes in. The Finns eventually wore down in managing nine shots through two periods and 11 overall.

Goalie Sanni Ahola stopped 44 shots overall, and kept the Finns in the game through a first period in which she stopped 14 of 15 shots. Carpenter was the only one that beat her with a one-timer from the slot for a power-play goal with 4:48 left in the period.

“I got a lot of shots, but I enjoyed every moment. I love getting a lot of shots,” Ahola said.

Heise was impressed by Finland's resolve.

“For a group that hasn’t really skated together for a few days, I’ll give them credit,” Heise said. “We knew that we had to outlast them.”

The Americans broke open the game with three goals in the second period.

Knight capped the run by being set up to the left of the net. She paused, then spun toward the net and banked a shot in off of Ahola’s blocker.

“She deserves all the success in the world, especially who she is off the ice,” Keller said, noting the entire team was aware of Knight’s milestone. “So we’ll be really excited when she gets that next one.”

Vance returned to the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena for a second time after he and his family also attended the Americans’ tournament-opening 5-1 win over Czechia on Thursday.

Vance sat with his youngest child, daughter Mirabel, on his lap. Usha Vance, wearing a sweatshirt with “USA” in big letters, clapped along to Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” before the second period started. The vice president and his wife stood and clapped when the U.S. scored a goal. They were back on their feet cheering a few minutes later when the Americans scored again.

Among his entourage were hockey’s twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, members of the U.S. gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Winter Games. And the group was joined by influencer and boxer Jake Paul.

In other Group A play, Natalie Spooner, Sarah Fillier and Julia Gosling scored power-play goals, and Daryl Watts also scored in defending Olympic champion Canada's 4-0 win over Switzerland. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped six shots — including a one-timer from Alina Muller with 8:40 remaining — in Canada's tournament opener.

Swiss goalie Saskia Maurer finished with 51 saves in an outing Canada sealed with three third-period goals.

Switzerland also had a stomach flu scare following a 4-3 SO win over Czechia. The Swiss team skipped the opening ceremony, and spent Friday night in isolation after one player showed symptoms of the norovirus. The player was cleared on Saturday.

In earlier Group B play, Thea Johansson scored twice and added an assist, and Sweden improved to 2-0 with a 6-1 win over host Italy (1-1).

Also, Laura Kluge had a goal and three assists, Nicola Hadraschek scored twice and added an assist, and Germany (1-1) defeated Japan 5-2.

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

Vice President JD Vance attends a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States' Taylor Heise, 2nd right, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides second goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Finland's Sanni Ahola, right, makes a save against United States' Grace Zumwinkle during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States' Hilary Knight celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides fourth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States' Hilary Knight, back, shoots to score past Finland's Sanni Ahola during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock visits a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Germany's Emily Nix, left, scores her side's third goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool)

Japan's Rui Ukita, left, slides past Germany's Sandra Abstreiter during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Germany's Sandra Abstreiter catches the puck during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Germany's Laura Kluge, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides fifth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Germany and Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

BEIRUT (AP) — A 10-day truce appeared to be holding in Lebanon early Friday, promising a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and possibly clearing one major obstacle to a deal between Iran and the United States and Israel to end weeks of devastating war.

But it remained unclear whether Israel would completely stop strikes on Hezbollah, and whether the militant group would recognize a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce, and displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal a “historic day for Lebanon,” even as he expressed confidence that the war with Iran would soon end in a Las Vegas speech.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking the current ceasefire deal with strikes on Lebanon. Israel said that deal did not cover Lebanon.

Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension of the ceasefire.

While oil prices fell on hopes of a deal, the head of the International Energy Agency warned that energy shocks could get worse if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen soon. Iran closed the crucial waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, shortly after the war began. Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel left and broader economic consequences will grow the longer the strait is closed, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans to reopen the strait.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but he said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

Hezbollah has said that Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation of their land and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”

The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”

Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but a Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.

The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.

“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP journalists Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Tracer rounds illuminate the night sky as people fire live ammunition and fireworks into the air following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, early Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People wave Hezbollah flags and an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Zefta, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, as displaced residents drive back to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Displaced people returning to their villages following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, cross the destroyed Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre city, south Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Iranian Jews attend a memorial for the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other victims, who were killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes, at Yousefabad Synagogue, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Displaced residents drive back to their villages as locals wave Hezbollah flags and an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Zefta, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)