Olympics-Ice hockey-Durante dazzles despite Italy exit to US

By Trevor Stynes and Giulio Piovaccari

MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Italy goalie Gabriella Durante put in a stunning performance despite conceding six to the United States on Friday as their women's Olympic ice hockey tournament came to an end, and she could well attract PWHL attention according to her coach.

The Italians had surprised everyone by reaching the quarter-finals and while they were never going to stop the U.S. as they continue their march for gold, the opening period saw Durante concede once having faced 20 shots.

"Kudos to Gabby, she's been phenomenal for this group," Italy coach Eric Bouchard said.

"We knew coming into this game that if we wanted to have a tight hockey game, our goalie would have to be elite, and she was above and beyond that.

"She was phenomenal. She was remarkable. She was so confident out there. She played with swagger. And that first period, you know, we battled through. We battled through, and the girls fought hard and were super happy with that."

Durante continuously frustrated the U.S. and saved her best for the end of that first period when making a diving stick save to deny Abbey Murphy.

"It was honestly so much fun," Durante said.

" I think going in, we didn't really have any expectations. We had nothing to lose and we played really well. We broke it into five-minute segments and just tried to play our hearts out for every five minutes.

"Those are the kind of games that you dream about, to be honest, playing the best of the best and just trying to showcase what you got."

Playing the best of the best could become a more regular occurrence for the 25-year-old after her impressive displays throughout the Games.

"She's going to open some eyes to some PWHL scouts for sure," Bouchard said.

"She played against the best players in the world and she responded so well to the challenge. I think the future is bright for her."