Swiss captain Lara Stalder (#7) fires a shot at the Czech net in a 4-3 shootout win for Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
Ivana Wey scored the shootout winner as Switzerland defeated Czechia 4-3 on Friday in Group A play at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Swiss showed character to rally from a two-goal third-period deficit in their tournament opener.
In the eighth round of the shootout, Wey tallied on a quick low wrister, sending her team into a gleeful celebration. In regulation time, Alina Muller had a goal and an assist, and Laura Zimmerman and Lara Christen scored for Switzerland.
"It feels great," Zimmerman said. "Even if it's in the shootout, a win is a win, and we're really happy. We believed until the end, and that's why we won."
Kristyna Kaltounkova, Natalie Mlynkova, and Tereza Plosova scored for the Czechs. They have lost two straight games, also falling 5-1 to the world champion Americans in their opener.
"At the end of the day, Switzerland had a little more pep in their step," said Czech coach Carla MacLeodl. "They played a really strong game. Give them a lot of credit for earning their win. They had to dig out of it, and they did."
Final shots favoured Czechia 36-31.
This was a battle of backup goalies. Czechia’s Klara Peslarova got a rest after playing versus the U.S., and Michaela Hesova made her Olympic debut at age 20. Switzerland’s Saskia Maurer got her first Olympic start. Maurer, 24, amassed an 8.25 GAA and 83.1 save percentage in relief versus the U.S. and Canada at the 2022 Olympics. Andrea Braendli, who started every game for Switzerland in Beijing, did not dress for this game.
"She just wasn't 100 percent fit after yesterday's training session," Swiss coach Colin Muller said of Braendli. "She said she'd rather not [play] today. So we decided to go with the other two goalies. It's a long tournament. We want to make sure Andrea's 100 percent fit to play and hopefully she's fit for tomorrow [versus Canada]."
Here, the Czechs got off to a quick start. Maurer stopped Adela Sapovalivova off the rush but couldn’t corral the rebound, and Kaltounkova crashed the net to bang it in at 1:32. Kaltounkova, the number one overall pick in the 2025 PWHL draft, leads the league with 11 goals in 16 games for the New York Sirens this season.
Hesova alertly stymied an unguarded Rahel Enzler in close with her blocker a couple of minutes later. However, when Czech defender Andrea Trnkova turned the puck over at her own blue line, Zimmerman pounced and jumped in to beat Hesova on the far side at 7:16.
It took just 1:33 for the Czechs to restore their lead. Continuing the “hockey is a game of mistakes” theme, the Swiss fumbled the puck while setting up their breakout. The wily Katerina Mrazova picked it up behind the net and backhanded it out front to Mlynkova, who made no mistake.
The second period was hard-fought, and the Swiss generated more chances but were unable to convert. Each team had a golden opportunity late in the period.
On a Swiss power play, Muller found captain Lara Stalder with a cross-crease pass, and when Hesova made the initial save, Stalder batted the puck to Enzler at the crease with a wide-open net. However, the Czech goalie got her stick down to make the save. And just before the siren, Mrazova and Mlynkova teamed up again, with Maurer foiling the latter on a nice toe save.
In the third period, Plosova gave the Czechs a two-goal lead at 6:09. Off a faceoff, the Swiss simply couldn't clear the puck from open ice with their opponents stick-checking doggedly, and the 19-year-old University of Minnesota forward found herself alone in front, beating Maurer blocker side.
"I think for our [Czech] group, we weren't as prepared at the start," MacLeod said. "We didn't have the jump that we were hoping for. Things weren't really going our way. At the start of the third, things started to look a little bit better."
The Swiss didn't cave in. At 9:33, Muller finished off a tic-tac-toe play with Stalder and Ivana Wey on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2.
With just 2:20 left in regulation, Christen tied it up on a wrist shot that caught Hesova high and rolled over the goal line. There was plenty of end-to-end action in an overtime that settled nothing.
Friday marked the first time the Czechs and Swiss have ever faced each other in Olympic women’s hockey.
The Swiss have been treading water internationally in recent years. Since their historic 2014 bronze medal in Sochi – with Alina Muller making her Olympic debut at age 15 – they have finished either fourth or fifth at two Olympics and six Women’s Worlds. Milan offers a chance to write a new story.
"We've been to many tournaments together, and we have to understand that we just can't expect to be the underdogs and not compete," said Colin Muller. "I thought our team competed hard, and we showed our experience today by staying in the game and playing hard."
Both these teams are potential contenders for the bronze medal, although the Czechs have had the edge in recent years. At the IIHF Women's World Championship, Czechia has defeated Switzerland twice for bronze, in 2022 (4-2) and 2023 (3-2).
In the eighth round of the shootout, Wey tallied on a quick low wrister, sending her team into a gleeful celebration. In regulation time, Alina Muller had a goal and an assist, and Laura Zimmerman and Lara Christen scored for Switzerland.
"It feels great," Zimmerman said. "Even if it's in the shootout, a win is a win, and we're really happy. We believed until the end, and that's why we won."
Kristyna Kaltounkova, Natalie Mlynkova, and Tereza Plosova scored for the Czechs. They have lost two straight games, also falling 5-1 to the world champion Americans in their opener.
"At the end of the day, Switzerland had a little more pep in their step," said Czech coach Carla MacLeodl. "They played a really strong game. Give them a lot of credit for earning their win. They had to dig out of it, and they did."
Final shots favoured Czechia 36-31.
This was a battle of backup goalies. Czechia’s Klara Peslarova got a rest after playing versus the U.S., and Michaela Hesova made her Olympic debut at age 20. Switzerland’s Saskia Maurer got her first Olympic start. Maurer, 24, amassed an 8.25 GAA and 83.1 save percentage in relief versus the U.S. and Canada at the 2022 Olympics. Andrea Braendli, who started every game for Switzerland in Beijing, did not dress for this game.
"She just wasn't 100 percent fit after yesterday's training session," Swiss coach Colin Muller said of Braendli. "She said she'd rather not [play] today. So we decided to go with the other two goalies. It's a long tournament. We want to make sure Andrea's 100 percent fit to play and hopefully she's fit for tomorrow [versus Canada]."
Here, the Czechs got off to a quick start. Maurer stopped Adela Sapovalivova off the rush but couldn’t corral the rebound, and Kaltounkova crashed the net to bang it in at 1:32. Kaltounkova, the number one overall pick in the 2025 PWHL draft, leads the league with 11 goals in 16 games for the New York Sirens this season.
Hesova alertly stymied an unguarded Rahel Enzler in close with her blocker a couple of minutes later. However, when Czech defender Andrea Trnkova turned the puck over at her own blue line, Zimmerman pounced and jumped in to beat Hesova on the far side at 7:16.
It took just 1:33 for the Czechs to restore their lead. Continuing the “hockey is a game of mistakes” theme, the Swiss fumbled the puck while setting up their breakout. The wily Katerina Mrazova picked it up behind the net and backhanded it out front to Mlynkova, who made no mistake.
The second period was hard-fought, and the Swiss generated more chances but were unable to convert. Each team had a golden opportunity late in the period.
On a Swiss power play, Muller found captain Lara Stalder with a cross-crease pass, and when Hesova made the initial save, Stalder batted the puck to Enzler at the crease with a wide-open net. However, the Czech goalie got her stick down to make the save. And just before the siren, Mrazova and Mlynkova teamed up again, with Maurer foiling the latter on a nice toe save.
In the third period, Plosova gave the Czechs a two-goal lead at 6:09. Off a faceoff, the Swiss simply couldn't clear the puck from open ice with their opponents stick-checking doggedly, and the 19-year-old University of Minnesota forward found herself alone in front, beating Maurer blocker side.
"I think for our [Czech] group, we weren't as prepared at the start," MacLeod said. "We didn't have the jump that we were hoping for. Things weren't really going our way. At the start of the third, things started to look a little bit better."
The Swiss didn't cave in. At 9:33, Muller finished off a tic-tac-toe play with Stalder and Ivana Wey on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2.
With just 2:20 left in regulation, Christen tied it up on a wrist shot that caught Hesova high and rolled over the goal line. There was plenty of end-to-end action in an overtime that settled nothing.
Friday marked the first time the Czechs and Swiss have ever faced each other in Olympic women’s hockey.
The Swiss have been treading water internationally in recent years. Since their historic 2014 bronze medal in Sochi – with Alina Muller making her Olympic debut at age 15 – they have finished either fourth or fifth at two Olympics and six Women’s Worlds. Milan offers a chance to write a new story.
"We've been to many tournaments together, and we have to understand that we just can't expect to be the underdogs and not compete," said Colin Muller. "I thought our team competed hard, and we showed our experience today by staying in the game and playing hard."
Both these teams are potential contenders for the bronze medal, although the Czechs have had the edge in recent years. At the IIHF Women's World Championship, Czechia has defeated Switzerland twice for bronze, in 2022 (4-2) and 2023 (3-2).
Czechia vs Switzerland - 2026 Women's Olympic Games
OF