Poulin scores in return, Canada beats Germany 5-1 in women's hockey Olympic quarterfinal

MILAN (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin’s injured right knee held up just fine.

And the Canadian women’s hockey icon added another entry to her “Captain Clutch” reputation.

Returning to the lineup after missing two-plus games, Poulin injected a spark into a slow-starting Canadian team by making a key defensive play and then scoring to tie the Olympic career record in a 5-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinal round of the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday.

The goal, the 18th in her fifth Olympic Games, was a mere afterthought for Poulin, who matched former Canadian teammate and Hockey Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser. Rejoining her teammates in the knockout round was her only motivation.

“Being a little bit back in the stands for the last two put things in perspective for sure,” Poulin said, after watching Canada drop a 5-0 decision to the U.S. before closing preliminary play a 5-0 win over Finland. “You want to be part of that, and you never want to be on the sideline due to an injury.”

Her teammates were happy to welcome back the 34-year-old, who earned her nickname for scoring three Olympic gold medal-clinching goals.

“She’s such a gamer. There’s never a doubt that when she’s on the ice, she’s ready,” Emily Clark said. “She does everything she has to do to be everything she can be for this team.”

Sarah Fillier had a goal and assist, and Brianne Jenner, Claire Thompson and Blayre Turnbull also scored for the defending Olympic champions. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 10 shots.

Canada advanced to the semifinals set for Monday and will play Switzerland, which defeated Finland 1-0 in the day's other quarterfinal. The top-seeded and tournament-favored Americans will play Sweden, the Group B winner after the Swedes upset Czechia on Friday.

It was the first Olympic meeting between the two nations, while Canada improved to 9-0 overall in international play and has now outscored the Germans by a combined 83-1.

Franziska Feldmeier became the first German female player to score against Canada. Her goal came on a short-handed breakaway 8:42 into the third period after intercepting Renata Fast’s pass. Sandra Abstreiter finished with 38 saves.

“It’s always fun to score. And then to score against a team like Canada is always exciting,” Feldmeier said. “I think we showed that German ice hockey developed, especially women’s hockey."

The Germans showed promise in finishing second in Group B with a 3-1 record, but still have work to do to break into the top six following their fourth Olympic appearance and first since 2014.

Canada has a far richer tradition as five-time gold medalists, and much higher expectations, which placed an even greater emphasis on Poulin’s return after being sidelined in a 5-1 win over Czechia on Monday.

She made a tremendous impact despite getting eased back in being limited to spot shifts and power-play time by logging 15 1/2 minutes.

Five minutes in, Poulin chased down Germany’s Laura Kluge driving in on a short-handed breakaway. She clipped Kluge’s helmet with her stick to distract the forward while she got off her shot that was stopped by Maschmeyer.

She then capped the scoring from a familiar spot — parked in front of the net and redirecting in Fillier’s shot for a power-play goal with 4:30 remaining.

“Incredible player, incredible person,” Fillier said. “That’s amazing. I’m sure she won’t think it’s that cool, but she deserves it.”

Fillier was among several players who didn't know of Poulin's milestone until being informed after the game.

Coach Troy Ryan was fully aware, as well as the leadership presence Poulin provides his team.

“I’ve run out of things to say about Pou,” he said. “In my head, you'd almost think that was already her record. So when I see that, it’s just nice that she gets to be where she belongs.”

Ryan was less glowing over how his team muddled through an opening period that featured several giveaways and miscues.

“I thought we just didn’t compete to the level that we need to. I don’t think we were as difficult to play against as we need to be moving forward,” he said, before crediting his team for improving over the final 40 minutes.

Canada opened the scoring on its first shot on goal, with Jenner driving the net and redirecting in Emma Maltais’ centering pass 1:40 into the game. Thompson made it 2-0 with 3:19 left in the period by firing a shot from the left point that appeared to knuckle through Abstreiter’s legs. Fillier put Canada up 3-0 when her shot deflected in off Abstreiter’s stick with 2:30 left in the second period.

Alina Muller scored with 5:43 left in the second period, Andrea Braendli stopped 40 shots for her first Olympic career shutout, and Switzerland advanced to the semifinal round for just the third time in team history.

Muller plays for the PWHL's Boston Fleet, was a college star at Northeastern, and best known for scoring the decisive goal in Switzerland's bronze medal-winning 4-3 victory over Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Games — the only time the Swiss women have medaled.

Sanni Ahola stopped 13 shots for Finland, which beat Switzerland 3-1 in the preliminary round, but was shut out in its four other outings.

Muller scored off a faceoff to the left of the Finns' net, and slipped a shot through Ahola's legs.

The game was a rematch of nations who met in the 2022 Beijing Games bronze medal game, with Finland winning 4-0.

The Finns dealt with several setbacks at Milan, beginning with their preliminary round opener postponed because of a stomach virus depleting the team's roster. Finland also was without veteran defender Jenni Hiirikoski, who was ruled out with an upper-body injury sustained in a 5-0 loss to Canada on Thursday.

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

Switzerland's Alina Muller (25) celebrates after scoring against Finland goalkeeper Sanni Ahola (1) during the second period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Sarah Fillier (10) is congratulated by Marie-Philip Poulin (29) after Fuller scored a goal against Germany during the second period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Germany's Franziska Feldmeier (7) scores her side's opening goal during a women's ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Sun Fei/Pool Photo via AP)

Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) tries to control the puck in front of Germany goalkeeper Sandra Abstreiter (35) during the second period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Blayre Turnbull, left, takes a spot on the bench with Brianne Jenner (19) and Sarah Nurse (20) after Turnbull scored a goal against Germany during the third period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin (29), Natalie Spooner, center, and Renata Fast (14) celebrate after a goal by Sarah Fillier during the second period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)