“I like the way we started again tonight,” said Mark Johnson, head coach of Team USA. “We established the pace and converted on a few of our opportunities. The team competed and played hard and we look forward to Saturday’s game against Canada.”

Natalie Darwitz (Eagan, Minn.) accounted for four U.S. points on two goals and two assists, while five other players had multi-point nights, including Krissy Wendell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), who notched a goal and a pair of helpers.

Team USA jumped out to an early lead, lighting the lamp just 27 seconds into the game, then adding another pair of goals in the following 3:35.

Kristin King (Piqua, Ohio) was first to score for the Americans, slipping a backhander past Chinese goaltender Yao Shi at the :27 mark. U.S. captain Wendell knocked in her second goal of the tournament at 1:26 after taking a pass across the goalmouth from Darwitz.

The United States converted on its third straight power-play attempt (dating back to Tuesday’s game against Kazakhstan) at 4:02 when Caitlin Cahow (Branford, Conn.) took a slap shot from the right point to put Team USA up 3-0.

The teams traded goals before the period was over for a 4-1 score at the end of the first frame. Rui Sun put China on the board with a shorthanded breakaway tally at 12:10. Erika Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass.) then tipped in a Darwitz rebound at 16:51.

After a slower start to the second stanza, Team USA scored three times in the second half of the period, including twice on the power play, for a 7-1 advantage.

Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.) potted her third goal of the world championship at 10:18, putting a one-timer just inside the near post from the left faceoff circle during a U.S. power play. Again with the man advantage at 11:31, Molly Engstrom (Siren, Wis.) slapped in a one-timer from the top of the slot as Team USA went up 6-1.

Darwitz closed out the second-period scoring at 15:54 when she tipped in Angela Ruggiero’s (Harper Woods, Mich.) rebound in front of the net.

The final frame saw another pair of U.S. goals, first a shorthander from Darwitz at 14:49, then a tally from Jinelle Zaugg (Eagle River, Wis.) at 16:11.

Team USA was 3-for-5 with the man advantage, while China was 0-for-5 on the power play.

NOTES: Cahow was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... For the second straight game, 12 of the 18 U.S. skaters factored in the scoring ... The United States outshot China 65-14, including a 27-5 margin in the first period ... Team USA is now 5-for-7 (.714) overall on the power play and is a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill ... Team USA has won one gold medal and eight silvers in the nine previous IIHF Women’s World Championships … Hilary Witt, head women’s ice hockey coach at Yale University, and Erin Whitten Hamlen, associate head women’s ice hockey coach at the University of New Hampshire, are serving as assistant coaches for Team USA.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 4-3-2 -- 9
CHN 1-0-0 -- 0

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, King (Parsons), :27; 2, USA, Wendell (Darwitz), 1:26; 3, USA, Cahow (Chu), 4:02 (pp); 4, CHN, Sun (unassisted), 12:10 (sh); 5, USA, Lawler (Darwitz), 16:51. Penalties: CHN, Qi (hooking), 3:01; USA, Marvin (hooking), 7:29; CHN, Tan (interference), 12:00; USA, Parsons (tripping), 18:01.

Second Period – Scoring: 6, USA, Parsons (Chu, Cahow), 10:18 (pp); 7, USA, Engstrom (Wendell), 11:31 (pp); 8, USA, Darwitz (Ruggiero, Lawler), 15:54. Penalties: CHN, Jin (slashing), 3:37; CHN, Wang (tripping), 9:26; CHN, Tan (cross checking), 10:55; USA, Wendell (hooking), 19:19.

Third Period – Scoring: 9, USA, Darwitz (Wendell), 14:49 (sh); 10, USA, Zaugg (Resor, Marvin), 16:11. Penalties: USA, Team (too many players on the ice), 1:52; USA, Weiland (roughing), 14:02.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 27 20 18 65
CHN 5 3 6 14

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Gunn 60:00 5-4 3-3 6-6 14-13
CHN, Shi, 60:00 27-23 20-17 18-16 65-56

Power Play: USA 3-5; CHN 0-5
Penalties: USA 5-10; CHN 5-10
Officials: Referee-Arina Ustinova; Linesmen-Heather Richardson, Ilse Robben