A duel between Canada and the United States for global supremacy in women’s hockey

The dominance of the two teams, since the discipline arrived at the Nagano Games in 1998, but also in the current Olympic tournament, has not been divided.

In Nagano, the Americans won the first gold medal in women’s hockey history by defeating their neighbors in the final.

The Canadians then won four Olympic finals that followed, including three against their eternal rivals.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, the United States turned its tide with a penalty shootout victory in the final against Canada.

Recently, the Canadians had the opportunity to put an ointment on this heartbreaking setback by defeating the Americans in the final of the World Championships, which was held last summer in Calgary. The win ended a streak of five victories for the United States in this tournament.

During the current edition of the Olympics, Canada and the United States made it to the final game by compiling massive stats.

The Canadians scored 54 goals while conceding 8 goals in six matches.

For their part, the Americans scored 28 goals and allowed eight goals in six matches.

It is not surprising that Canadian players dominate the championship scoring column, occupying the top six in the standings.

Sarah Nurse tops the scoring lists in the Olympic semi-final against the United States.

Photo: Getty Images / Justin Setterfield

With 4 goals and 12 assists (16 points), Sarah Norse dominates the scorers’ ranking, followed by leader Mary Philip Paulin (4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points) and Natalie Spooner (3 goals, 11 assists, 14 points). ).

The only American representative among the top ten scorers of the tournament is Hilary Knight, who scored 5 goals in addition to collecting 4 assists for 9 points.

Hilary Knight is the top scorer for the Americans.

Photo: Getty Images / Bruce Bennett

Close encounter in the preliminary round

Although these offensive stats are impressive, they should be taken into account at the dawn of the final match between the two teams. In fact, the current parity between the two squads often offers close scoring matches.

After scoring 9.6 and 6 goals per game in a row in the first three matches of the preliminary round, the Canadians and Americans fought a fierce battle that ended in a 4-2 single-team victory.

This match, in preparation for the final, could have bowed to the side of the Americans, but the brilliance of goalkeeper Anne Rene Despens decided otherwise.

Ann-Renée Desbiens made a 51-time save performance against the United States in the preliminary round.

Photo: Getty Images/Anthony Wallace/AFP

Facing a barrage of 53 shots, hockey player La Malbaie stood in front of her net to keep her team in the game. His ingenuity, coupled with a little help from his publications, allowed Canada to slip into the locker room by one goal after the first half.

After trailing by one goal midway through the second half, the Canadians exploded by scoring three consecutive goals to win the duel.

After the match, American striker Amanda Kessel felt that her team deserved a better fate.

We shot nearly twice as many as they did. We have to find a way to score more goals. It was a good match overall for us. We never want to lose, but we have to learn from this defeat and be better in the next gameShe said.

Happy with the win, Canadian captain Marie-Philippe Boleyn was nonetheless aware that all the work had to be done again during the final match.

In every game you want to give your best. We are very happy with the victory. The real tournament will start at the next meetingPauline recalled after his family’s victory.

Easy ways to the final

After beating the Americans in their final game of the preliminary round, the Canadians completed where they left off before this game with straight teams. Sweden 11-0 in the quarter-finals And Switzerland 10-3 in the semi-finals In order to earn their place in the Grand Final.

For their part, the Americans earned their ticket to the final by defeating the Czech Republic 4-1 in the quarter-finals and Finland with the same result in the semi-finals.

In the final, Canada should be able to count on the services of star striker Melody Doust. After being injured in the first game of the tournament against Switzerland, Daust returned to play in the semi-finals, and secured a hand in her victory over Switzerland itself.

Melody Dawst

Photo: Radio Canada

” I felt so good, I was so excited to be back with the team and to be able to contribute on the ice. We’re on our way to the Olympics final, so I can’t ask for the best. »

In the final, the Canadians will try to add a fifth Olympic gold medal to their roster, while the Americans will play with the goal of defending their title and winning a third.