Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament

1998 Winter Olympics

Tournament details
Host country	Japan
Dates	8–17 February
Teams	6
Venue(s)	2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	United States (1st title)
Runner-up	Canada
Third place	Finland
Fourth place	China
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	119 (7 per match)
Attendance	81,707 (4,806 per match)
Scoring leader(s)	Riikka Nieminen (12 points)
2002 →

Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Qualification
	men
Tournament
	men	women
Rosters
	men	women
v t

The 1998 Olympic women's ice hockey tournament was the first year that featured women in ice hockey competition.^[1] It was anticipated that the women's gold medal match would feature Canada versus the United States. Canada was favored to come out on top as they had won all the competitions in previous years in women's hockey, with the United States perpetually finishing second, while no other national teams could match their level of play. However, the United States beat Canada in the final and became the first country to win gold in women's ice hockey at the Olympics.^[2]

There were no qualification tournaments. The top five nations at the previous season's world championships were entered, along with host nation Japan.

Preliminary round[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	5	5	0	0	33	7	+26	10	Gold medal game
2	Canada	5	4	0	1	28	12	+16	8
3	Finland	5	3	0	2	27	10	+17	6	Bronze medal game
4	China	5	2	0	3	10	15	−5	4
5	Sweden	5	1	0	4	10	21	−11	2
6	Japan (H)	5	0	0	5	2	45	−43	0

All times are local (UTC+9).

8 February 1998 12:00

Sweden

0–6 (0–2, 0–2, 0–2)

Finland

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 2,208

showGame reference
	Annica Åhlén	Goalies	Tuula Puputti	Referee: Marina Zenk Linesmen: Debra Parece Evonne Young
	0–1 08:35 – Vaarakallio (Huotari) 0–2 15:17 – Ikonen (Selin) (PP) 0–3 22:35 – Reima (Fisk) 0–4 34:07 – Nieminen (Reima) 0–5 55:11 – Krooks 0–6 58:20 – Ikonen
	16 min	Penalties	12 min
	12	Shots	28

8 February 1998 16:00

Canada

13–0 (3–0, 6–0, 4–0)

Japan

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 4,597

showGame reference
	Lesley Reddon Manon Rhéaume	Goalies	Haruka Watanabe Yuka Oda	Referee: Victoria Renfer-Kale Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Sigrid Nonas
	Goyette (Wickenheiser) – 05:46 1–0 Heaney – 15:42 2–0 Wickenheiser (Wilson, Campbell) – 17:05 3–0 Goyette (Wilson, Brisson) – 24:23 4–0 Brisson (Wickenheiser) – 28:12 5–0 Campbell (Diduck) – 31:22 6–0 Wilson (Goyette) – 35:43 7–0 Kellar (Sunohara) – 36:14 8–0 Wickenheiser (Wilson) (PP) – 38:08 9–0 Diduck (Campbell) – 53:52 10–0 St-Louis (Heaney, Kellar) (PP) – 55:26 11–0 Goyette – 56:21 12–0 Smith (St-Louis) (PP) – 58:06 13–0
	12 min	Penalties	12 min
	64	Shots	3

8 February 1998 20:00

China

0–5 (0–2, 0–1, 0–2)

United States

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 3,255

showGame reference
	Guo Hong	Goalies	Sarah Tueting	Referee: Laurie Taylor-Bolton Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Sandra Dombrowski
	0–1 07:39 – Granato (Ulion, Schmidgall) (PP) 0–2 19:17 – Bye (Mounsey) (PP) 0–3 34:53 – Mounsey (King) 0–4 51:05 – Schmidgall (Bye) 0–5 56:20 – Granato (King)
	14 min	Penalties	10 min
	10	Shots	31

---

9 February 1998 12:00

Finland

11–1 (2–0, 3–0, 6–1)

Japan

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 4,972

showGame reference
	Liisa-Maria Sneck	Goalies	Haruka Watanabe Yuka Oda	Referee: Laurie Taylor-Bolton Linesmen: Sigrid Nonas Evonne Young
	Lankosaari (Riipi, Krooks) – 03:54 1–0 Riipi (Lankosaari) – 18:45 2–0 Reima (Fisk, Hänninen) – 27:22 3–0 Hänninen (PP) – 33:29 4–0 Hänninen (Nieminen, Ikonen) (PP) – 38:23 5–0 Rantamäki – 45:43 6–0 6–1 48:28 – Hatanaka (Fujiwara, Yoshimi) (PP) Nieminen (Lehto) – 49:06 7–1 Krooks – 49:52 8–1 Hänninen (Nieminen) (PP) – 50:42 9–1 Lehto (Nieminen) – 52:55 10–1 Nieminen (Fisk, Lehtimäki) – 54:40 11–1
	16 min	Penalties	42 min
	49	Shots	9

9 February 1998 16:00

United States

7–1 (1–1, 4–0, 2–0)

Sweden

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 3,607

showGame reference
	Sara DeCosta	Goalies	Annica Åhlén	Referee: Manuela Gröger Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Marina Zenk
	0–1 10:02 – Morelius (Sjölander, Holst) (PP) Baker (Merz) – 16:27 1–1 Bye (Merz, Mounsey) (PP) – 32:39 2–1 King (Blahoski) – 34:26 3–1 Merz – 36:20 4–1 Bye (SH) – 38:39 5–1 Ulion (Granato) (PP) – 54:28 6–1 Looney (SH) – 55:30 7–1
	14 min	Penalties	24 min
	47	Shots	3

9 February 1998 20:00

Canada

2–0 (0–0, 2–0, 0–0)

China

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 2,713

showGame reference
	Manon Rhéaume	Goalies	Guo Hong	Referee: Sandra Dombrowski Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Debra Parece
	Goyette (Wickenheiser) – 24:38 1–0 Sunohara (Heaney) (PP) – 35:38 2–0
	6 min	Penalties	14 min
	40	Shots	8

---

11 February 1998 12:00

Sweden

3–5 (0–2, 2–2, 1–1)

Canada

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 5,429

showGame reference
	Charlotte Göthesson	Goalies	Lesley Reddon	Referee: Victoria Renfer-Kale Linesmen: Debra Parece Evonne Young
	0–1 09:30 – Goyette 0–2 10:06 – Nystrom (Drolet) 0–3 26:23 – Drolet (Kellar) (PP) Rooth (Almblad) – 28:38 1–3 1–4 35:05 – Brisson (SH) Burholm (Holst) (PP) – 38:11 2–4 2–5 40:34 – Goyette (Wickenheiser, Wilson) Månsson (Sjölander) – 42:11 3–5
	34 min	Penalties	20 min
	11	Shots	38

11 February 1998 16:00

Japan

1–6 (0–0, 0–3, 1–3)

China

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 5,863

showGame reference
	Yuka Oda	Goalies	Guo Hong	Referee: Manuela Gröger Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Sigrid Nonas
	0–1 32:21 – Yang (Li, Liu H.) 0–2 32:35 – Guo W. (Yang) 0–3 33:45 – Zhang L. (Lu) Sato (Obikawa) (PP) – 22:25 1–3 1–4 46:31 – Guo W. (Gong) (PP) 1–5 52:24 – Sang (Xu) 1–6 55:19 – Guo W. (Liu H.)
	12 min	Penalties	18 min
	7	Shots	44

11 February 1998 20:00

United States

4–2 (1–1, 3–1, 0–0)

Finland

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 3,688

showGame reference
	Sarah Tueting	Goalies	Tuula Puputti	Referee: Marina Zenk Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Laurie Taylor-Bolton
	Movsessian (King) – 02:48 1–0 1–1 18:09 – Hänninen (Lehto, Nieminen) (PP) Bye (Schmidgall) – 21:22 2–1 2–2 25:27 – Nieminen (SH) Mounsey (Bye, Merz) (PP) – 26:49 3–2 Ulion (Bye) – 36:56 4–2
	18 min	Penalties	10 min
	25	Shots	22

---

12 February 1998 12:00

China

3–1 (0–0, 0–1, 3–0)

Sweden

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 3,670

show
	Guo Hong	Goalies	Annica Åhlén	Referee: Marina Zenk Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Debra Parece
	0–1 31:10 – Sjölander (Almblad) Zhang L. (Yang, Liu H.) – 46:42 1–1 Liu H. (Wang) – 50:38 2–1 Yang (Zhang L., Guo W.) – 58:08 3–1
	8 min	Penalties	10 min
	23	Shots	23

12 February 1998 16:00

United States

10–0 (5–0, 2–0, 3–0)

Japan

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 5,015

show
	Sara DeCosta	Goalies	Haruka Watanabe Yuka Oda	Referee: Laurie Taylor-Bolton Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Sigrid Nonas
	Looney – 03:55 1–0 Mleczko (Merz) – 09:08 2–0 Whyte (Granato) – 13:32 3–0 Looney (Ulion, Schmidgall) (PP) – 14:14 4–0 Mleczko (Brown-Miller, Looney) – 14:36 5–0 King (Baker, Bailey) – 29:18 6–0 King (Blahoski, Baker) – 39:34 7–0 Baker (Granato) (PP) – 45:37 8–0 Bye (Mounsey, Ulion) (PP) – 51:46 9–0 King (Baker) – 53:03 10–0
	8 min	Penalties	12 min
	56	Shots	4

12 February 1998 20:00

Finland

2–4 (0–2, 1–2, 1–0)

Canada

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 3,133

show
	Liisa-Maria Sneck Tuula Puputti	Goalies	Manon Rhéaume	Referee: Sandra Dombrowski Linesmen: Manuela Gröger Evonne Young
	0–1 12:45 – Brisson (Sunohara) (PP) 0–2 16:50 – Heaney (Drolet) (PP) 0–3 28:53 – Brisson (St-Louis) Vaarakallio (Fisk) – 33:25 1–3 1–4 36:26 – Goyette (Heaney, Diduck) (PP) Rantamäki (Vaarakallio) – 53:32 2–4
	10 min	Penalties	10 min
	21	Shots	23

---

14 February 1998 12:00

Japan

0–5 (0–2, 0–2, 0–1)

Sweden

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 6,009

show
	Yuka Oda	Goalies	Charlotte Götesson	Referee: Sandra Dombrowski Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Debra Parece
	0–1 10:58 – Andersson (PP) 0–2 18:33 – Holst (Elfsberg) 0–3 25:34 – Gustafsson (Elfving) 0–4 31:15 – Rooth (Andersson, Holst) (PP) 0–5 59:18 – Holst (Rooth)
	12 min	Penalties	14 min
	15	Shots	30

14 February 1998 16:00

Finland

6–1 (2–0, 2–1, 2–0)

China

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 5,638

show
	Tuula Puputti	Goalies	Huo Lina Guo Hong	Referee: Victoria Renfer-Kale Linesmen: Laurie Taylor-Bolton Evonne Young
	Ikonen – 01:08 1–0 Lehtimäki (Hänninen) – 09:56 2–0 Fisk (Lehtimäki) – 24:37 3–0 3–1 24:50 – Liu H. (Wang) Nieminen (SH) – 27:57 4–1 Lehtimäki (Hänninen) – 44:20 5–1 Nieminen – 57:09 6–1
	8 min	Penalties	6 min
	33	Shots	9

14 February 1998 20:00

Canada

4–7 (1–1, 0–0, 3–6)

United States

Aqua Wing Arena Attendance: 5,872

show
	Lesley Reddon	Goalies	Sarah Tueting Sara DeCosta	Referee: Manuela Gröger Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Sigrid Nonas
	Dupuis (Sunohara) (PP) – 03:01 1–0 1–1 19:20 – Granato (PP) Dupuis (Brisson) (PP) – 41:24 2–1 Hefford (Dupuis) (PP2) – 45:28 3–1 Brisson (Wilson, Wickenheiser) (PP) – 45:53 4–1 4–2 47:05 – Baker (King) 4–3 50:57 – Granato (Ulion, Mounsey) (PP2) 4–4 52:25 – Schmidgall (Granato) (PP) 4–5 52:48 – Dunn (Mleczko) 4–6 57:06 – Brown-Miller (Mleczko) 4–7 58:58 – Baker (ENG)
	18 min	Penalties	30 min
	35	Shots	30

Final round[]

Bronze medal game[]

17 February 1998 14:00

Finland

4–1 (0–1, 3–0, 1–0)

China

Big Hat Attendance: 7,412

showGame reference
	Tuula Puputti	Goalies	Guo Hong	Referee: Laurie Taylor-Bolton Linesmen: Johanna Kuisma Evonne Young
	Fisk (Nieminen, Lehto) − 23:07 1–0 Ikonen (Vaarakallio, Rantamäki) − 27:08 2–0 2–1 09:27 − Yang Lankosaari (Riipi, Krooks) − 30:15 3–1 Nieminen (Lehtimäki) (ENG) − 59:52 4–1
	0 min	Penalties	8 min
	23	Shots	9

Gold medal game[]

17 February 1998 18:00

United States

3–1 (0–0, 1–0, 2–1)

Canada

Big Hat Attendance: 8,626

showGame reference
	Sarah Tueting	Goalies	Manon Rhéaume	Referee: Marina Zenk Linesmen: Isabelle Giguère Debra Parece
	Ulion (Whyte, Merz) (PP) − 22:38 1–0 Looney (Whyte, Ulion) (PP) − 50:57 2–0 2–1 55:59 − Goyette (Wickenheiser, Heaney) (PP) Whyte (ENG) − 59:52 3–1
	8 min	Penalties	6 min
	24	Shots	22

Final rankings[]

Rank	Team
	United States
	Canada
	Finland
4	China
5	Sweden
6	Japan

Statistics[]

Scoring leaders[]

List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM	POS
Riikka Nieminen	6	7	5	12	+14	4	F
Danielle Goyette	6	8	1	9	+10	10	F
Karyn Bye	6	5	3	8	+4	4	F
Cammi Granato	6	4	4	8	+2	0	F
Katie King	6	4	4	8	+10	2	F
Gretchen Ulion	6	3	5	8	3	4	F
Hayley Wickenheiser	6	2	6	8	+7	4	F
Thérèse Brisson	6	5	2	7	+5	6	D
Laurie Baker	6	4	3	7	+10	6	F
Kirsi Hänninen	6	4	3	7	+13	6	D

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position
Source: eurohockey.com

Leading goaltenders[]

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.

Player	TOI	GA	SA	Sv%	SO
Sarah Tueting	210	4	64	93.75	1
Manon Rhéaume	208	4	54	92.59	1
Charlotte Göthesson	120	5	53	90.57	1
Tuula Puputti	271	7	67	89.55	1
Guo Hong	350	16	150	89.33	0

TOI = Time on Ice (minutes); GA = Goals Against; SA = Shots Against; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts

References[]

External links[]

• Whockey – Women's Hockey 1998 Winter Olympics (in English)
• SFRP Hockey Archine: Winter Olympic Games 1998 (in English)
• The Hockey Nut: Women's Olympic Hockey 1998 (in English)
• Hockeyarchives – Jeux Olympiques de Nagano 1998 Compétition féminine (in French)
• – Championats du monde feminins 1997 (in French)
• la84 foundation – Nagano 1998 Official Report (182–187) (in English)
• IIHF: Nagano 1998 in Web Archivessa (in English)