US routs Finland 7-1 in opener at women’s hockey worlds

CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic (AP) — Hayley Scamurra and Kelly Pannek scored two goals each as the United States routed Finland 7-1 in their opening game at the women’s hockey world championship on Wednesday.

Captain Hilary Knight, making her 15th world championship appearance, and Taylor Heise both had a goal and an assist, and Lee Stecklein also scored for the U.S.

Goaltender Aerin Frankel saved 19 shots in a Group A match between last year’s runner-up U.S. and the bronze medalist.

Petra Nieminen scored the lone goal for Finland on a power play.

“It was a big win,” Knight said. “Finland’s a great team, and we had all lines, all D-pairings going, which is really nice, and some great individual performances.”

Scamurra put the Americans 1-0 up 2:44 into the game on a rebound and doubled the advantage moments later. Pannek increased the lead to 3-0 from the slot in the first period as the Americans stormed the ice early and she finished off the rout with her second goal in the final period.

Defenseman Stecklein, who took the past year off to focus on her PWHL career, marked her return with a goal from a backhand shot in the second period.

In another Group A game, the Czech Republic blanked Switzerland 3-0.

Klára Hymlárová, Kristýna Kaltounková and Tereza Pištěková all scored for the hosts and goaltender Klára Peslarová made 26 saves for the shutout.

Earlier, Sweden defeated Germany 5-2 in their opening game in Group B.

Hanna Thuvik scored the first goal of the tournament 10:34 into the opening period for Sweden. Mira Hallin doubled the lead midway through the second.

Luisa Welcke reduced the German deficit to 2-1 in the second period before Anna Kjellbin and Thea Johansson both scored in the third for Sweden.

Emily Nix netted in the third for Germany on a power play, with Hanna Olsson finishing off the five-goal Swedish tally by scoring into an empty net.

The U.S. and defending champion Canada are the tournament favorites, continuing a long-standing cross-border rivalry. Canada has won 13 world titles followed by the U.S. with 10 spanning the previous 23 championships.

Finland is the only other team apart from Canada and the U.S. to reach the final, doing so in 2019.

Canada opens its title defense against Finland on Thursday.

The 12-day, 10-nation tournament in the southern Czech city of Ceske Budejovice represents the final major international tune-up before the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

The teams are divided into two groups for a preliminary round. All five teams from Group A and the top three from Group B qualify for the playoffs.

The bottom two from Group B, which also features Japan, Norway and Hungary, are relegated.

AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Finland's Elisa Holopainen, rear, chases United States' Caroline Harvey during a Group A match at the women's ice hockey world championships, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. (Lubos Pavlicek/CTK via AP)

United States' Hilary Knight celebrates a goal during a Group A match against Finland at the women's ice hockey world championships, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. (Lubos Pavlicek/CTK via AP)

Swedish players celebrate victory after the IIHF Women's World Championship, Group B, match between Sweden and Germany, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Pavlicek Lubos/CTK via AP)

From left, Celina Haider of Germany, Tabea Botthof of Germany, as Hanna Thuvik of Sweden scores against goalkeeper Sandra Abstreiter of Germany and Sara Hjalmarsson of Sweden during the IIHF Women's World Championship, Group B, match between Sweden and Germany, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Pavlicek Lubos/CTK via AP)

From left, Megan Keller of the U.S, Julia Schalin of Finland, Laila Edwards of the U.S., goalkeeper Aerin Frankel of the U.S. and Sanni Rantal of Finland in action during the ice hockey IIHF Women's World Championship Group A match between Finland and U.S., in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Lubos Pavlicek/CTK via AP)

US players celebrate a goal during the ice hockey IIHF Women's World Championship Group A match between Finland and US, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Lubos Pavlicek/CTK via AP)

From left, Siiri Yrjöl of Finland and Kelly Pannek of the U.S. in action during the ice hockey IIHF Women's World Championship Group A match between Finland and US, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Lubos Pavlicek/CTK via AP)

Luisa Welcke, left, of Germany and Thea Johansson of Sweden compete during the IIHF Women's World Championship Group B match Sweden vs Germany, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, on April 9, 2025.(Pavlicek Lubos/CTK via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Voters in many areas of England go to the polls Thursday in local elections that provide a test of feeling about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour government, 10 months after it was elected in a landslide.

Both Labour and the main opposition Conservative Party are bracing for losses in the midterm poll. The hard-right Reform UK led by Nigel Farage is fielding more candidates than any other party and hopes to make major gains in the elections for about 1,600 seats on 23 local councils, six mayoralties and one seat in Parliament.

Reform got about 14% of the vote in last year’s national election and holds just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. But polls now suggest its support equals or surpasses that of Labour and the Conservatives, and it hopes to displace the Conservatives as the country’s main party on the right before the next national election, due by 2029.

“Tomorrow is the day that two-party politics in England dies for good,” Farage told supporters at a rally on Wednesday evening.

Polls are open until 10 p.m. (2100GMT, 5 p.m. EDT), with most results due on Friday.

Reform is aiming to win hundreds of municipal seats, largely from the Conservatives, whose leader Kemi Badenoch could face revolt if the party does very badly.

Badenoch has acknowledged that the results could be “very difficult” for the Tories. The party did extremely well when these areas were last contested in 2021, a time when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the COVID-19 vaccine program.

Farage’s party also hopes to win two or three mayoral contests and a special parliamentary election for the seat of Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England. It was long a secure Labour district, but the previous lawmaker, Mike Amesbury, quit after he was convicted of punching a constituent in a drunken rage.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said the Conservatives and Reform are in “a fight for the soul of the right wing of U.K. politics.” He said Farage’s “populist radical right insurgency” also poses a threat to Labour, targeting working-class voters with pledges to curb immigration, create jobs and cut government waste.

The centrist Liberal Democrats also hope to build on their success in winning more affluent, socially liberal voters away from the Conservatives.

Bale said winning municipal power could be a double-edged sword for Reform, bringing pressure to deliver on transport, potholes, housing and all the other unglamorous demands of everyday politics.

“Populist parties tend to offer fairly simple solutions to fairly complex problems,” he said. “Which is fine when you’re in opposition and all you are doing is living in a house of words. But once you start living in house of deeds, that is a completely different proposition.”

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage speaks during a campaign event at Stafford Showground, Stafford, England, whilst campaigning for this week's local elections, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP)