Knight hat-trick leads USA past Czechia 8–1 at women’s hockey worlds

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Hilary Knight scored a hat-trick as the United States beat Czechia 8–1 in Esbjerg on Wednesday to complete the preliminary stage of the Women’s World Championship with four wins from four. The defending champions finished top of Group A and will face hosts Denmark in Friday’s quarter-finals.

Abbey Murphy gave the Americans the lead after just 53 seconds, and Knight doubled the advantage before the first intermission. Knight struck again early in the second period as the United States continued to control possession and create chances.

Murphy’s second goal made it 4–0 midway through the match, prompting Czechia to replace starting goalkeeper Aneta Senkova with Daniela Novakova. Grace Zumwinkle added the fifth before Laila Edwards converted a five-on-three advantage to send the Americans into the final period 6–0 ahead.

Knight completed her treble with a short-handed goal early in the third period. Alex Carpenter then made it eight before Natalie Mlynkova scored a late consolation for Czechia.

Aerin Frankel made 11 saves, while Taylor Fox contributed three assists. Knight’s three goals took her tournament total to six and her career World Championship tally to 73 in 91 appearances.

The Americans now move from group play into the elimination rounds, with Denmark their next opponent on Friday, 13 November. Czechia, who finished fourth in Group A, will play Canada.

Canada completed its own unbeaten group campaign with a 2–0 victory over Finland to top Group B. The other quarter-finals pair Germany with Finland and Switzerland with Sweden. Those fixtures leave the leading contenders on separate paths for now, with places in the last four still to be earned.

Sources

• IIHF: Official United States–Czechia match report
• Associated Press via ABC News: Independent report on USA and Canada (2026-11-11)
• Reuters: Group standings, quarter-final opponents and team context (2026-11-12)