It was a big weekend for Canada in Pyeongchang as the medal count rises
Canada dispatches OAR, 5-0, in Olympic semifinal
PYEONGCHANG — Canada’s women’s hockey team will play for Olympic gold again.
The Canadians blanked Olympic Athletes from Russia 5-0 in Monday’s semifinal.
Canada faces the United States in Thursday’s final and will attempt to win a fifth straight gold.
“On one hand it’s like any other hockey tournament. On the other hand, it is our Stanley Cup,” Canadian forward Brianne Jenner said. “It’s what we dream about since we’re little girls.”
Jennifer Wakefield led Canada with a pair of goals. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Emily Clark and Rebecca Johnston also scored.
Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados stopped 14 shots for the shutout and her second win of the tournament.
Russian goalie Valeria Tarakanova stopped 27-of-31 shots before being replaced by Nadezhda Alexandrova in the third period. Alexandrova made 15 saves.
The U.S. beat Finland 5-0 in an earlier semifinal. The Finns and Russians will play for bronze.
Since women’s hockey made its Olympic debut in 1998, Canada and the U.S. have met in every final except 2006 when the Americans were upset by Sweden in the semifinal.
But once again, the U.S. women stand in Canada’s way for gold in 2018. The game starts at 11:10 ET on Wednesday.
“A battle for the ages as usual,” Jenner said. “It’s one of the best rivalries in hockey. There’s not much more you can say.”
Only the U.S. women’s basketball team has a longer streak of consecutive Olympic gold medals at six.
The U.S. won the inaugural women’s hockey event in 1998. The Americans have won seven of the last eight women’s world championships and beat Canada in the final every time.
The U.S. narrowly lost the gold to Canada four years ago in Sochi, Russia. Poulin scored the overtime winner.