Alina Muller and Lara Stalder lead Team Switzerland, past Czechia, to win opening-day shootout thriller

The opening game of Switzerland's Olympic campaign required grit, resilience, and contributions from veterans and newcomers alike. When the moment demanded excellence, two established stars delivered while a new generation announced its arrival on the sport's biggest stage.Alina Muller and Lara Stalder shifted momentum throughout the Group A thriller against Czechia on Friday. The duo consistently created offensive chances and provided the spark Switzerland needed to erase a two-goal deficit in the final period, even helping their team secure the win.With an early goal from Kristyna Kaltounkova, Team Czechia seized the game in their favor early, but the Swiss didn’t allow the lead to continue for long. Just minutes later, Laura Zimmerman slapped the puck inside the net to level the game.But the Czechs soon turned the game in their favor as goals by Natalie Mlynkova and Tereza Plosova put their team ahead 3-1 with minutes remaining on the clock. While a victory looked unachievable, Switzerland refused to concede. Muller scored a power-play goal 10 minutes into the third period, orchestrating a tic-tac-toe sequence with Stalder and Ivana Wey that cut the deficit to one. Defender Lara Christen then rifled home the tying goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime.The Swiss controlled possession through the three-on-three overtime period before the game went to a shootout. Both Muller and Stalder scored in the skills competition, with Wey delivering the decisive goal in the eighth round to seal the victory.Switzerland's new generation contributed significantly in their Olympic debuts. Defender Alessia Baechler, a 20-year-old rookie at Northeastern, led all Swiss players in ice time and played crucial minutes during the three-on-three overtime session.Wey, who turned 20 two days before the Olympics, was one of only three Swiss forwards, alongside Muller and Stalder, to play over 20 minutes. The young forward, who is headed to Northeastern Huskies next season, made a spectacular pass to Muller for the power-play goal before scoring twice in the shootout, including the winner."We always believed that we could play over 60 minutes, and that's what we did," Zimmerman said. "That's why we came back and won that game." The extra point from the shootout victory could prove vital for Switzerland's quarterfinal seeding. The Swiss avoided finishing last in Group A and positioned themselves favorably against the tournament's elite teams. Switzerland faces defending champion Canada on Saturday at 3:10 PM ET in their second Group A contest.