Swiss goalie Andrea Brandli, coming off a 44-save outing versus Canada in the semi-finals, hopes to lead her team to the 2026 Olympic bronze medal
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Andrea Braendli didn’t come to Milan to make the Olympic all-star team. However, Switzerland’s number one goalie has certainly entered the all-star conversation in the playoff round. The 28-year-old Braendli – named the SDHL’s best goalie in 2024-25 – has carried over the dominant form she has once again exhibited with Frolunda HC this season.
The former Ohio State and Boston University star made 40 saves in a 1-0 shutout versus Finland in the all-important quarter-final. Next, Braendli nearly denied Canada a berth in the gold medal game for the first time since the inaugural 1998 Olympic women’s tournament in Nagano, Japan. It took two goals by Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin – now the all-time leader in goals in Olympic women’s hockey (20) – to defeat the Swiss 2-1 in the semi-finals. Braendli delivered a 44-save performance, and her odds of becoming a PWHL starter look bright.
“Andrea Braendli played a great game in net and kept us in the game for a long time,” said Swiss head coach Colin Muller.
The U.S.’s Aerin Frankel will get all-star consideration too after posting her Olympic-record third shutout in a 5-0 semi-final victory over the Swedes. That said, the Boston Fleet star (0.25 GAA, 98.5 save percentage) has been much better-protected with the gold medal-favourite Americans than Braendli (2.35 GAA, 94.8 save percentage). Braendli has faced twice as many shots (136) in three games as Frankel has faced (68) in four games.
The former Ohio State and Boston University star made 40 saves in a 1-0 shutout versus Finland in the all-important quarter-final. Next, Braendli nearly denied Canada a berth in the gold medal game for the first time since the inaugural 1998 Olympic women’s tournament in Nagano, Japan. It took two goals by Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin – now the all-time leader in goals in Olympic women’s hockey (20) – to defeat the Swiss 2-1 in the semi-finals. Braendli delivered a 44-save performance, and her odds of becoming a PWHL starter look bright.
“Andrea Braendli played a great game in net and kept us in the game for a long time,” said Swiss head coach Colin Muller.
The U.S.’s Aerin Frankel will get all-star consideration too after posting her Olympic-record third shutout in a 5-0 semi-final victory over the Swedes. That said, the Boston Fleet star (0.25 GAA, 98.5 save percentage) has been much better-protected with the gold medal-favourite Americans than Braendli (2.35 GAA, 94.8 save percentage). Braendli has faced twice as many shots (136) in three games as Frankel has faced (68) in four games.
Goalie Andrea Braendli (#20) held down the fort in a 1-0 quarter-final win over Finland at the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament.
It was 2026 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee Florence Schelling – the all-time goalie leader in Olympic wins (10) and shutouts (five) – who backstopped the Swiss women to their lone Olympic medal: bronze in 2014. That was a 4-2 comeback win over none other than Sweden.
Braendli was already a two-time Swiss champion with ZSC Lions Frauen then at age 16, but the Zurich native was not yet a senior national team member. Only captain Lara Stalder and top scorer Alina Muller are returnees from the 2014 Olympic team. They must all be at their best if Switzerland is to win another bronze medal on Thursday.
Braendli spoke with reporters after the hard-fought semi-final loss to Canada.
On her semi-final performance
Personally, pretty good. It took me a while to get into the game. I feel like in the first couple [moments] there were some bounces, I would say, where I got lucky. I have to thank my posts there!
On whether she prefers facing many shots or few
I prefer more shots than being on the other side just facing like 10, because it’s easier to stay in the game. But overall, a little less than 40-something shots would also be nice sometimes, for the hips, for the groin and everything! But I can't complain. My team really helped me out too [against Canada] to lower the shots a little bit there.
On where she would rank this semi-final among her career highlights
Tough one, I would say. Just simply because it’s a semi-final at the Olympics, and it’s a 2-1 game against Canada, it’s very high on my list. But also not that high, because at the end, we didn't win. So I would say I’m pretty satisfied with our whole performance. You know, the team fought to the end. We never gave up. That's really something we have to keep going now into the bronze medal game.
On what it’s like to face Poulin
Incredibly challenging! She is one of the best players in the world, and just facing that sometimes gives you the nerves a little bit. It also gives some sort of motivation to be extra challenging for her, don't make it too easy. But she’s just incredible.
On what playing Canada tight in the semis means for the Swiss program
I think it's huge. It really shows also what Switzerland is doing in the Swiss league. You know, we have so many people now playing in the Swiss league and being 2-1 against Canada now really shows that we're doing the right job. We’re just not quite there yet. Our shot count [against Canada was] very low. So there needs to be more work done back home in Switzerland. But overall, we're going in the right direction.
On what it will be like to play Sweden for bronze
We know our chances are as high as they are for Sweden. They also were an underdog coming into all their games, and they really did a good job. So they will have some motivation on their side too. But we have that chip on our shoulder now, and we need to keep going. I think our chances are pretty good. We’re ready for it.
On what Switzerland can carry over mentally from the semi-finals
I think intensity-wise, we can keep that going. It was huge, fighting until the end, down 2-1 against Canada. It’s easy to, not give up, but hang our heads, and be like, 'Oh, we have no chance to come back.' But we didn’t. And I think we can keep that going into the bronze medal game, because you never know what will happen in the opening period. Maybe we’re going to be down. We need that relentlessness, that discipline, that motivation to keep going, to keep fighting.
Braendli was already a two-time Swiss champion with ZSC Lions Frauen then at age 16, but the Zurich native was not yet a senior national team member. Only captain Lara Stalder and top scorer Alina Muller are returnees from the 2014 Olympic team. They must all be at their best if Switzerland is to win another bronze medal on Thursday.
Braendli spoke with reporters after the hard-fought semi-final loss to Canada.
On her semi-final performance
Personally, pretty good. It took me a while to get into the game. I feel like in the first couple [moments] there were some bounces, I would say, where I got lucky. I have to thank my posts there!
On whether she prefers facing many shots or few
I prefer more shots than being on the other side just facing like 10, because it’s easier to stay in the game. But overall, a little less than 40-something shots would also be nice sometimes, for the hips, for the groin and everything! But I can't complain. My team really helped me out too [against Canada] to lower the shots a little bit there.
On where she would rank this semi-final among her career highlights
Tough one, I would say. Just simply because it’s a semi-final at the Olympics, and it’s a 2-1 game against Canada, it’s very high on my list. But also not that high, because at the end, we didn't win. So I would say I’m pretty satisfied with our whole performance. You know, the team fought to the end. We never gave up. That's really something we have to keep going now into the bronze medal game.
On what it’s like to face Poulin
Incredibly challenging! She is one of the best players in the world, and just facing that sometimes gives you the nerves a little bit. It also gives some sort of motivation to be extra challenging for her, don't make it too easy. But she’s just incredible.
On what playing Canada tight in the semis means for the Swiss program
I think it's huge. It really shows also what Switzerland is doing in the Swiss league. You know, we have so many people now playing in the Swiss league and being 2-1 against Canada now really shows that we're doing the right job. We’re just not quite there yet. Our shot count [against Canada was] very low. So there needs to be more work done back home in Switzerland. But overall, we're going in the right direction.
On what it will be like to play Sweden for bronze
We know our chances are as high as they are for Sweden. They also were an underdog coming into all their games, and they really did a good job. So they will have some motivation on their side too. But we have that chip on our shoulder now, and we need to keep going. I think our chances are pretty good. We’re ready for it.
On what Switzerland can carry over mentally from the semi-finals
I think intensity-wise, we can keep that going. It was huge, fighting until the end, down 2-1 against Canada. It’s easy to, not give up, but hang our heads, and be like, 'Oh, we have no chance to come back.' But we didn’t. And I think we can keep that going into the bronze medal game, because you never know what will happen in the opening period. Maybe we’re going to be down. We need that relentlessness, that discipline, that motivation to keep going, to keep fighting.