U.S. Women’s Hockey: Leading Up to Final Gold Medal Against Rival Canada

The U.S. Women’s hockey team secured their place in a gold-medal duel on Monday with a 5-0 victory over Finland. Canada will oppose the United States in the final, yet another matchup in one of hockey’s most storied rivalries.

The two teams met on February 15 in a preliminary round, and while the United States lost 2-1, there was still reason for head coach Robb Stauber to be optimistic. “We had one hell of a performance tonight,” Stauber told U.S.A. Hockey. “We’re three games into this tournament and every game we’ve outshot our opponents by a 2-to-1 margin… We expect a reward for our effort and our honesty and sticking to our game plan, which is getting pucks to the net. And that’s what we did.”

As Stauber mentioned, the United States outshot their Canadian counterparts 45-23 in a performance that included shots on four different occasions that beat Canadian goaltender Geneviève Lacasse but hit the goalpost. The loss gave the Americans a 2-1-0 preliminary record in Pyeonchang, also taking down Finland and Olympic Athletes from Russia in round-robin play.

The game comes amidst a long rivalry between the two premier teams in women’s hockey, and tensions showed in the final minutes as players clashed and tussled. With Canada winning four out of five Olympic golds since women’s hockey inclusion in 1998, and the United States winning eight of ten International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournaments played in non-Olympic years, there is an endless struggle for dominance in the women’s hockey world.

This gold-medal game will likely be no different, as a surging U.S. team seeks to avenge their devastating overtime loss in Sochi. In fact, history is ever-present in the minds of the U.S. women. Pyeonchang marks 20 years since their last gold medal at the Nagano games in 1998, a victory that seemingly inspired a generation regarding women’s hockey.

Additionally, the U.S. women’s team had a landmark year in 2017. In March, they announced a boycott of the upcoming World Championships, citing stalled negotiations with U.S.A. Hockey. Just two weeks out from the tournament, which was to be held in Plymouth, Michigan, the team refused to bend on the equity they had been working towards for over 14 months.

Soon after the announcement, the women secured better pay, accommodations, insurance, and youth funding in an unprecedented deal that rocked the athletic world. The United States played in the tournament, winning gold once again.

The United States will use this success to fuel them on February 21 in the gold medal game, airing at 11:10 p.m. ET. Here’s who and what to watch for.

For the Canadians, stellar goaltending has been the storyline in Pyeongchang. Geneviève Lacasse was nearly unbeatable against the Americans last week, but their other two goaltenders, Anne-Renee Desbiens and Shannon Szabados, stand just as tall for Team Canada.

It would be hard to go wrong for head coach Laura Schuler, and one of the Americans’ greatest challenges will be getting pucks in the back of the net. As always, veterans Marie Philip-Poulin and Natalie Spooner will be potent offensively.

As for the Americans, the Olympic tournament has been highlighted by a seemingly effortless mix of experienced skaters and young guns. Offensively, twins and two-time Olympians, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Morando and Monique Lamoureux-Davidson, have been stellar. Powerhouse forward Hilary Knight has been quiet thus far, scoring just one goal, but do not expect her to remain that way as she finds chemistry with the speedy Kendall Coyne.

The new faces of defender Cayla Barnes and goaltender Maddie Rooney have been impressive on the back end, and first-timer Dani Cameranisi netted two goals in the United States’ semifinal. This success comes after veterans Alex Carpenter and Megan Bozek were surprisingly cut from the team in December to make room for the young additions, but it seems to be paying off for Stauber.

“This is the world’s biggest stage. This is the game that you want. This is the game we’ve been dreaming of and to have another opportunity to get back here, it’s huge,” said Knight.