Taking wins over a war of words
Canadians dismiss chirps from U.S.
If you listened to the post-game dissection from the Americans’ point of view, you might have thought the Canadians were destroyed in their first meaningful contest of the 2018 Olympics.
They weren’t. Canada beat the Americans 2-1 for a fifth consecutive victory over their rivals to finish off a 3-0 sweep in group play.
Listening to the Americans postgame, they seem to believe they ’re suddenly the gold-medal favourites because they outshot Canada.
They aren’t. But U.S. forward Amanda Kessel said as much by declaring that the Americans had “put some doubt” in the minds of the Canadians because somehow the shot clock had more meaning than the scoreboard.
It was an amusing stab at gamesmanship, but if anything the result that mattered increased the belief among the Canadian players, who won five of six contests in a pre-Games series with the U.S.
“I think we have some things to improve on, but we’re definitely confident with where we’re at and where we’re going,” said rookie Sarah Nurse of Hamilton, whose first Olympic goal was the game-winner. “We have a lot of confidence in every player on this team.”
The Canadians were far from perfect, but they weren’t intimidated in the slightest. And the win carries with it some significance in that it sets up the possibility of the easier of two semifinal games.
Yes, they were outshot 45-24 and even though she was brilliant in net, goaltender Geneviève Lacasse of Montreal heard the post ring four times, including once in a frantic final minute.
But to suggest that the Americans rocked the Canadians’ confidence is laughable. Even American coach Robb Stauber got in on the act.
“I don’t know if anything went wrong,” Stauber said. “We’re three games into this tournament and we’ve outshot our teams ( by a 2-1 margin) in every game. We believe if we stick to the process of outshooting teams 2-1, it’s not a matter of if it is going to happen, it’s a matter of when.”
And what about the five-game losing streak against Canada — not to mention four consecutive losses in Olympic finals?
“We’re not worried about that, nope,” Stauber said. “Those games that we played in the past have nothing to do with our future.”
Thursday’s game was typical of so many contests between the two powerhouses. It was fast. It was physical: There were several skirmishes, including one in the Canadian crease as time ran out that included some punches thrown.
Meghan Agosta, a Vancouver police constable, had Canada’s other goal.
“It’s always a battle, especially playing the U.S.,” she said. “They just keep it coming and we knew it was going to be chippy out there, but it was a good win for us.”