Canada yesterday beat fierce rivals the US 3-2 to win women’s Olympic ice hockey gold, avenging a loss in the final four years ago and capping a dominant run in Beijing.
Canada led 3-0 in the second period and held on to win, despite being outshot in the game 40-21, to collect the country’s fifth Olympic gold medal in the event.
Canada experienced heartbreak at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games when they came into the gold medal match on a 24-game winning streak, but ended up losing to the US in a shoot-out.
Photo: Reuters
“Coming off 2018 and having that silver medal, it felt like the weight of the world was on our shoulders,” forward Sarah Nurse said. “Having this gold, it’s going to feel as light as ever.”
No other country has won women’s ice hockey gold in the seven Olympic Games since the event debuted in Nagano in 1998. Canada have won five of those and the US two.
“It was one hell of an effort. This is redemption,” said Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored twice in the game.
The US arrived in Beijing ranked No. 1 in the world, but a gold medal for second-ranked Canada soon seemed inevitable.
Canada blitzed the field, finishing 7-0, including an earlier 4-2 win over the US. After that game, Canada’s Natalie Spooner cranked the rivalry up a notch by saying that the US “do not belong on the ice with us.”
Canada players occupied the top six spots on the Beijing points leaderboard.
The US’ Hilary Knight said her teammates were “willing to go through a wall for each other,” but did not quite play to their potential.
“At the end of the day, I’m proud of our effort,” she said.
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