USA 6, SWE 1: Americans blow out Sweden, advance to gold-medal women's hockey game

The American women's ice hockey team cruised past Team Sweden 6-1 Monday to advance to the gold-medal game. 

Team USA will face the winner of the semifinal game between Canada and Switzerland in Sunday's title game, while Team Sweden will compete against the loser in the bronze-medal match.

Despite managing a 4-2 victory over a heavily-favored Finnish side in the quarterfinal round, Sweden wasn't expected to be able to match up with a loaded American team. And it didn't.

In fact, the semifinal game was so lopsided that it has served to reignite the debate about whether or not women's hockey is competitive enough to warrant inclusion at the Olympic games. It wasn't the score that caught the eye of observers, so much as the shot clock:

Going into the semifinal round, the Americans had controlled over 68 percent of total shots in the games they've played thus far. Meanwhile, the Canadian women have controlled over 72 percent of total shots in their games. That Canada and the United States have crushed the opposition to that extent - despite structural efforts to limit blowouts at this particular tournament - is a testament to how far the North American teams outstrip the competition in this sport. 

At least Sweden managed to score a goal in the semifinal game, as Anna Borgqvist beat Jessie Vetter midway through the third period to put Sweden on the board. 

Still, it was a lopsided enough event that it set off the old discussion about whether women's ice hockey should be an Olympic sport:

Women's hockey does, however, have its vocal defenders:

Regardless of the level of competitiveness of Monday's semifinal game, a potential gold-medal rematch between the United States and Canada is sure to produce some excellent, hard-fought hockey. 

Canada still needs to defeat Switzerland in their semifinal match on Monday. The Americans? They're through - with emphasis.