Johansson scores women's hockey Olympic tournament-leading 4th goal in Sweden's 4-0 win over France

MILAN (AP) — At 19, Hilda Svensson wasn’t born the last time Sweden’s women’s hockey team medaled at the Olympics.

The Ohio State freshman and a collection of young and brashly confident teammates are eager to rectify what’s been a 20-year drought at the Milan Cortina Games.

“I think we have a good chance,” Svensson said after setting up two goals in a 4-0 win over France on Sunday.

“I think we have one of the best teams now since then. And we have a really good energy,” she added. “Everyone on this team wants to take that medal. And I think everyone’s going to work very hard for that.”

One step at a time.

Improving to 3-0, Sweden earned a berth in the quarterfinal round and is one win — or a loss by Japan (1-1) — from clinching Group B.

The next challenge is more daunting, with Sweden having to win two more games to medal in a tournament in which the U.S. entered as favorites, followed by defending Olympic champion Canada, Finland and Czechia.

Difficult as the road ahead appears, Svensson’s outlook reflects a transformational shift in the program’s trajectory. The core of Sweden’s roster is made up of players who won silver at the 2018 U-18 championships.

“I really like how they’re not afraid to lose,” 31-year-old captain Anna Kjellbin said of the youngsters. “They just see possibilities to win all the time. And I think that’s one of the strengths of that generation.”

Sweden’s roster features eight players 22 and younger, with seven currently competing at U.S. colleges. They include Svensson, who is tied for seventh in the nation with 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists) in 26 games.

Against France, Minnesota-Duluth senior forward Thea Johansson scored her Olympic tournament-leading fourth goal. Also scoring were Sara Hjalmarsson, Hanna Thuvik and Lisa Johansson. Emma Soderberg stopped 14 shots for her first Olympic shutout in six games.

France dropped to 0-3 in its Olympic debut, and is in jeopardy of not qualifying for the quarterfinals. Only the top three of five Group B nations advance. Alice Philbert had 45 saves in a game the Swedes outshot France 49-14.

In the day’s only other game, Finland (0-1) renewed its rivalry in facing Czechia (0-2) in Group A play.

Sweden has so far played to its high expectations by outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 14-1. The team has finished no better than seventh at the past two Olympics after finishing fourth at the 2014 Sochi Games.

The drop-off has been dramatic for the only nation other than Canada and the U.S. to win an Olympic silver medal. The Swedes did so at the 2006 Turin Games by upsetting the Americans in the semifinals. Sweden also won bronze in 2002.

“The time for us is now,” coach Ulf Lundberg declared before the tournament opened. He based that on what he called a “we don’t care” attitude his players have adopted.

“You have those youngsters coming in and they’re not afraid of anything. I love it," Lundberg said. “We want to be more like the Canadians and the Americans that feel that we are best, because then you have the grace and the swag."

Lundberg has been part of the transformation. He took over the women’s team after playing a role in developing several Swedish men’s stars, including Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft.

Encouraged as he is, Lundberg is not looking beyond Sweden closing its preliminary round schedule against Japan on Tuesday.

“We’re not looking or listening to media talking about maybe semifinal, maybe medal, maybe 2006 again,” Lundberg said. “Slow down. Here and now.”

AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sweden's Lisa Johansson, right, celebrates after scoring her side's fourth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool)

Sweden's Head Coach Ulf Lundberg gestures during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

France's Jade Barbirati, left, challenges Sweden's Hilda Svensson during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

France's Estelle Duvin, right, fights with Sweden's Anna Kjellbin during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Sweden's Thea Johansson, left, celebrates after scoring her side's opening goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the France and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

MILAN (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that it is hard to cheer for American Olympians who are speaking out against administration policies, calling one such critic “a real Loser” who perhaps should have stayed home.

It was the latest and most prominent example of U.S. Olympians at the Milan Cortina Games inviting online backlash with their words.

Reporters on Friday asked U.S. athletes at a news conference how they feel representing the country during the Trump administration's heighted immigration enforcement actions. Freestyle skier Hunter Hess replied that he had mixed emotions since he doesn't agree with the situation, and that he is in Milan competing on behalf of everyone who helped get him to The Games.

“If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it,” Hess said. “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Among those who piled on Hess were YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

“From all true Americans If you don’t want to represent this country go live somewhere else,” he wrote on X, where he has 4.4 million followers. Minutes later, he was photographed sitting beside U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the U.S women’s hockey game in Olympic host city Milan.

Trump said the next day that Hess' comments make it hard to root for him.

“Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it," he wrote on his Truth Social account.

At Friday's news conference with the athletes, freestyle skier Chris Lillis referenced Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying he's “heartbroken” about what is happening in the U.S.

“I think that, as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect," Lillis said. “I hope that when people look at athletes compete in the Olympics, they realize that that’s the America that we’re trying to represent.”

And U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn said the LGBTQ+ community has had a hard time during the Trump administration.

In addition to Paul, conservative figures criticizing the athletes on social media include former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, actor Rob Schneider and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds — who Trump has endorsed for the Florida gubernatorial race in November. And there was a flood of vitriol directed at them from ordinary Americans.

Glenn posted on Instagram that she had received “a scary amount of hate / threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel." She added that she will start limiting her social media use for her well-being.

In response to questions from The Associated Press, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement Sunday that it is aware of an increasing amount of abusive and harmful messages directed toward the athletes and was doing its best to remove content and report credible threats to law enforcement.

"The USOPC stands firmly behind Team USA athletes and remains committed to their well-being and safety, both on and off the field of play,” it said.

Support for the U.S. abroad has eroded as the Trump administration has pursued an aggressive posture on foreign policy, including punishing tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.

During the opening ceremony, Team USA athletes were cheered on, but jeers and whistles could be heard as Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium screens, waving American flags from the tribune.

In Milan, several demonstrations have broken out against the against the local deployment of ICE agents — even after clarification that they are from an investigations unit that is completely separate from the enforcement unit at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the U.S.

Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm seen in the streets of the U.S. is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers were sent to Italy.

A demonstration on Saturday featured thousands of protesters. Toward its end, a small number of them clashed with police, who fired tear gas and a water cannon. That followed another one last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.

Associated Press writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

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

FILE - Hunter Hess, of the United States, executes a trick in the halfpipe finals during the World Cup U.S. Grand Prix freestyle skiing event in Copper Mountain, Colo., Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)