RIVALRY TO END ALL RIVALRIES
Nothing matches the history and intensity of Canada-U.S. women’s hockey
There are only two teams and there is only this tournament.
And there is nothing in the sporting world today — nothing as rivals — that compares to Canada and the United States playing women’s hockey.
It is that tense and intense.
It is that unique.
It is so full of spirit and intrigue and angst and unknown that even a semi-meaningless game in the round-robin portion of the tournament like the one played here is just the latest chapter to be written in their ever-expanding textbook of hockey drama.
In the final frenetic seconds of a 2-1 classic, American Hilary Knight couldn’t get her stick on a pass that should have enabled her to tie the score, and twice right after that the U.S. hit the goalpost, and one long pushing match and a referee challenge to determine whether the puck had scored — and this was being played for basically nothing but bragging rights.
That was just one small glimpse of 60 crazy, back-andforth, mistake-filled hockey minutes. A snapshot of what makes these matchups so magical.
In the end, Canada basically won a game it probably should have lost, won the ability to choose its colours for the goldmedal match, and the opportunity to choose which bench it will occupy. Nothing on the line but an ever-evolving rivalry in a sport where only two countries matter, where the game has got better year after year and the competitiveness has grown and matured, leaving the nasty hatred and name calling of the past behind.
“It used to be vicious,” said Melody Davidson, general manager of Team Canada. “Early on, it was unhealthy. It was bitter. It was a true, nasty rivalry, in just how you would envision it.”
Now it’s less about anger and more about hockey at its best, and the odd juxtaposition that exists between the only countries dominating a multi-countried sport.
Team Canada doesn’t tend to lose at the Olympics. They haven’t lost a game since the gold-medal disappointment of 1998. Since then, four gold medals in a row. The score Thursday was 2-1. The last time they met each other at the Olympics, four years ago, Canada won gold in Sochi in overtime. That’s what these games have become: a deep breath, a bounce, one save or one goalpost — that’s the fine line between winning and losing.
Canada has won four Olympics in a row. The U.S. has won four world championships in a row, seven of the past eight. Two of the last three world championships have gone to overtime.
The Americans outshot Canada badly in the 2-1 decision. Shots don’t matter. Possession doesn’t matter. The victories do.
“This isn’t the way it used to be, where we were kind of enemies,” said Davidson. “All these girls now play together (on U.S. college or professional teams). They vacation together. They work together. It’s really become healthy for the sport — and when they play now it’s more ego and pride on the line than maybe it used to be. It’s like playing for bragging rights with your buddies in the beer league, except it’s a much higher level. You get two guys working together, playing on opposite teams, each one desperately wanting to win. That’s what’s happening here.”
And still there is a certain desperation to it. Again one game will decide everything and that game wasn’t played Thursday. The contrast here between the men’s and women’s tournaments couldn’t be greater.
The men’s tournament is about getting to know each other. The women’s tournament is one game, winner take gold medal, everybody knows everybody, the matchup already anticipated.
When you look around at other sports, there aren’t two teams or two countries that match up this way. That’s what makes this so different and special. Every once in a while the Yankees and the Red Sox are alone, the way the Dodgers and the Giants are alone. Just not every year. And there is nothing like this in the NHL or the NFL or the NBA.
Canada came in to the tournament as an apparent underdog to the Americans. “I love being the underdog,” said Davidson. “We’ll take that any day.” But after the win Thursday, making it five wins in a row over Team USA this season, that underdog thing has kind of disappeared.
Favourite or underdog, the designation is basically meaningless now. They have to play each other one more time.
One game for everything. This one being just the latest twist in this ever-turning rivalry of all rivalries.
It was a true, nasty rivalry, in just how you would envision it.