FAMILIAR FOES
Fourth time’s the charm? The United States women’s hockey team has seen enough silver in its storied rivalry with the Canadians, with three of the past four Winter Olympics resulting in the Americans staring up at their podium spoilers.
The 2018 version of Team USA will pose one of the strongest challenges yet to the Canadian dynasty when the geographical neighbors meet in the women’s final at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Wednesday night (11:10 p.m., NBCSN).
The Americans, who last won gold at the 1998 Nagano Games when women’s hockey made its Olympic debut, are coming off four-straight IIHF world championships over the hockey-crazed nation and a one-goal loss to Canada in qualifying play last week, in which the U.S. outshot the Canadians nearly 2-to-1.
“It’s like having a bad relationship and it going sour. That’s what it is,” U.S. forward Hilary Knight said of the recurring faceoff, via the Washington Post. “It’s always going to be there. It’s innately a part of your fabric. At the same time, it’s motivated me tremendously.”
The 28-year-old Knight is one of six players who has come up short twice against the Canadians, in 2014 in Sochi and 2010 in Vancouver. Those losses, though etched into the rivalry’s ever-growing script, have no bearing on the present team’s gold-medal pursuit.
“Tough to say,” star forward Amanda Kessel said of whether the Vancouver disappointment would play into Wednesday’s showdown. “Kind of put that in our past at this point. We can’t go back and play that game again.”
One thing you can expect from the championship toss-up, almost always decided by one goal when these two teams meet, is the physicality that will awaken in each player at puck drop.
Canada’s 2-1 win over the Americans on Thursday featured a flurry of collisions and scuffles in front of net, including three goals called back. The Americans’ best shot at sending the game into overtime came in the final seconds, when forward Brianna Decker hit the post and players from both sides formed a scrum in front of Canadian goaltender Genevieve Lacasse. The officials ruled no goal after video review.
Lacasse played the hero in Canada’s nail-biting win, making 44 saves against the United States’ feisty forwards, but all it takes is a
few more of those chances going the Americans’ way to flip the outcome.
“It’s just finding a way to finish those grade-A chances that we had, and we didn’t finish,” said Kendall Coyne, who scored the Americans’ lone goal in the game, just seconds into the third period.
Team USA’s hopes of thwarting Canada’s attack rest on 20-year-old goaltender Maddie Rooney, who is making her Olympic debut after anchoring the 2017 world championship team. The Minnesota native followed up her 23-save performance in the United States’ opening win against Finland with 21 saves against Canada and 14 in the semifinal rematch with Finland, a 5-0 win.
Though Rooney was not even 1 year old when the U.S. last won Olympic gold — “I was probably in the crib watching that game,” she told the Washington Post — her first taste of the rivalry has given her plenty of motivation for the title game.
With a mixture of young firepower — 22-year-old Dani Cameranesi has recorded three goals and two assists in four games — and veteran starpower — twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando have combined for four goals — the U.S. has the depth to make the 20-year anniversary of their first and only gold medal a sweet one.
“I think they’re the most skilled in the world,” Finnish goalie Noora Raty, who has faced both teams in these Olympics, said of the Americans. “I mean, they have four lines that could play on any other team.”
It’s going to take all four to put bring Canada’s four-year run to a halt.