Peschel scores on debut as United States rout Germany 5-0 at women’s world championship

Emma Peschel scored on her international debut as the United States beat Germany 5-0 in Denmark at the women’s ice hockey world championship on Sunday. The 22-year-old’s goal came in a Group A match the Americans controlled from the opening period.

Peschel, a 22-year-old defender, fired a wrist shot from the point to make it 2-0 in the opening period. Casey O’Brien opened the scoring and added an assist in her second game for the US after marking her debut with a goal and an assist in Friday’s 7-0 victory over Switzerland. Alex Carpenter extended the lead to 3-0 in the second period, and Abbey Murphy and Joy Dunne scored in the third to complete the 5-0 result.

Captain Hilary Knight registered an assist, extending her world championship totals to 54 assists and 122 points. Defender Caroline Harvey provided two assists, giving her five through the opening two games. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips stopped all 13 shots she faced as the Americans recorded their second straight shutout, and the team has outscored opponents 12-0 through two games.

“Today was another solid win under our belt, Germany is a talented team,” US coach John Wroblewski said. “We’re going to take the positives from this game and focus on turning our attention to our next test against Austria tomorrow.” All but one member of the American roster plays in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

The United States have won 10 of the past 14 world championships and arrived in Denmark as reigning world and Olympic champions, having claimed the 2025 title in the Czech Republic and gold at the Milan-Cortina Games in February, beating Canada in overtime in both finals. In Group B in Herning, Sweden bounced back from an opening 5-1 defeat to Canada with a 4-1 victory over Finland; Hilda Svensson scored on the power play and added an assist.

The Americans will face Austria in another group-stage contest in Esbjerg on Monday. Canada were scheduled to face Japan later on Sunday in Herning, while the Czech Republic were due to meet Switzerland in Esbjerg.