On Friday, Feb. 6, France and Japan kicked off the doubleheader games for the second day of the women’s ice hockey Olympic tournament. The game kicked off with a quiet first period, with no change in score in the first 20 minutes. Late in the second period, Japan got on the board first, but France tied it a minute later.
Related: Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Women’s Hockey Tournament
The third period was dwindling, and it looked like this game was going into overtime. Japan scored a late goal in the third period to give them another lead. Japan scored an insurance goal on the empty net to extend its lead. France scored a late goal to try to make a comeback, but it was not enough. The two teams exited the game with Japan earning a 3-2 win.
Baudrit Evened the Score
Late in the second period, Rui Ukita opened the scoring for Japan, already putting France in a hole. However, they didn’t stay there for long. Anais Peyne’Dingival stole the puck from Japan’s zone and passed it to an open Manon le Scodan.
She skated it into France’s zone on a breakaway, sending the puck through the legs of Seki Kanami as she tried to defend le Scodan. When she picked the puck back up, she tried to take a shot, but Miyuu Mashuhara made the initial save. Lore Baudrit skated up with speed and evened the score with just 18 seconds left in the middle frame.
At 34 years old, this marks Baudrit’s first Olympic Games. She represented France twice previously in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) back in 2019 and 2023, and in both tournaments, France came in 10th place. It was only Baudrit’s second Olympic game, but she had already made a splash.
Japan Had a Strong Third Period
The time was dwindling in the final frame, and it looked like this game was going to go into overtime to decide the winner. However, Japan made a huge final push that was the difference maker.
Although France tried to get the puck out of Japan’s zone towards the end of the third period, Japan’s Makoto Ito kept it in. Play continued, and Remi Koyama had the puck tied up by the boards. Ito skated up to the front of the net, and her shot went over the shoulder of Alice Philbert for the lead.
France pulled the goaltender to try and even the score, but right as Philbert got off the ice, Suzuka Maeda sent it into the yawning cage to give Japan a two-goal lead.
Japan spent a lot of the first period taking shots, but they continuously failed to connect, hence the quiet first period. In each frame, they outshot France, with a final shot count of 38-25, Japan taking the majority. It was in these final moments that Japan’s efforts paid off, and they were able to leave their first game of the tournament with a win.
France Tried to Make a Comeback
Just a minute after Japan earned its two-goal lead, Kanami Seki took a seat for holding. France pulled Philbert again, but this time they had a six-on-four chance. With more numbers, they thought they could find success, and they did.
Chloe Aurard-Bushee took a shot, but it went wide. The play reset, and she took another shot, but Mashuhara made a secondary save. The play continued, and the puck found Aurard-Bushee once again. Instead of shooting it, she passed it to Estelle Duvin, who shot it from the blue line, but couldn’t get it through the traffic.
Play reset for a fourth time, and it was Aurard-Bushee, once again, who picked up the puck. She passed it again to Gabriele De Serres, who passed it back to Duvin. She gave it back to De Serres, and she skated up towards the faceoff circle. She took a shot, and it went into the empty space Mashuhara allowed as she hugged the goal post.
Despite their goal in the final 12 seconds of play, it wasn’t enough for France to answer back. However, it showed their perseverance, and they didn’t give up even when they were down by two. The power-play goal helped, but it was unfortunately scored too late.
Japan Might Have Eliminated France
This was only Japan’s first game in the Olympic tournament, but it was France’s second. They fell 4-1 to Italy on Thursday, giving the host country its first-ever win in the women’s hockey tournament. This was a special moment for the Italian team, but it was a tough blow for France. Now, Japan has dealt them an even harder blow with two straight regulation losses.
While no team has been eliminated yet, as it is only Day 2, France will need to find a miracle to make it further in the tournament.
Both Teams Back in Action Over the Weekend
Japan will kick off a four-game stretch on Saturday, Feb. 7, when they take on Germany. Germany lost on Thursday to Sweden. Japan will try to continue their strong performance as they have the chance to potentially knock another team out of quarter-finals contention.
France will kick off the doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 8, when they take on Sweden, which also plays on Saturday. France will need to take advantage of a tired Swedish team to try to pick up their first win in this Olympic tournament.
