For U.S. women’s hockey, it’s ‘gold or bust’ in 2018
Before the U.S. women’s hockey team makes it to Pyeongchang next year for the Olympic tournament, the Americans will host the world championships, a tournament they’ve won the last three times.
Winning gold at worlds is old hat for the U.S. women, who are clearly focused on standing atop the podium at the Olympics in one year in South Korea.
To reach their goal, the players know they’ll have to beat Canada.
The USA and Canada are the only countries to have won gold in the Olympics or world championships. The two have met 17 times in the gold medal game at worlds, with the Americans winning six of the last seven tournaments.
But in the Olympics, Canada has dominated, sweeping the last four golds.
It’s not a stretch to say the U.S. players are consumed with beating their northern rival.
“For a lot of people, I don’t think they totally understand — not just us but Canada as well — how passionate the rivalry is,” said defenseman Monique Lamoureux, who was in New York with teammates for festivities to mark the one-year countdown until Pyeongchang. “It’s what motivates us every single day to get up and train and to do extra conditioning and to be the best hockey players we can be. That’s a big part of our motivation, because we know at the end of the day, if we’re in a gold medal game, it’s likely going to be playing against them.”
It’s been three years since the USA lost to Canada in the gold medal game in the Sochi Olympics. But it’s the way they lost, giving up a twogoal lead late in the third period and falling in overtime, that makes it so difficult to forget.
“It’s definitely never one that will go away,” said Jocelyne Lamoureux, a forward who’s the other half of Team USA’s twin duo. “It’s pretty hard to put into words how disappointing something like that is.”
As painful as the losses to Canada have been, it hasn’t hurt the players’ confidence.
“If you ask any of our teammates, it’s gold or bust,” forward Hilary Knight said. “We’re going there to win a gold medal, nothing else.”
Forward Meghan Duggan has been on the last two Olympic teams that finished runner-up to Canada along with Knight and the Lamoureux sisters. Duggan and Knight also have been on six world championship teams that beat Canada for gold, going back to 2008.
“It’s feisty. It’s an intense rivalry,” Duggan said. “We do not like each other on the ice. I know from our end we’re doing everything in our power to make sure moving forward those games are tipped in our favor. … I think it’s one of the best rivalries in women’s sports.”
The best rivalry in women’s hockey continues March 31 at the world championships in Plymouth, Mich.
“It’s what motivates us ... to get up and train and to do extra conditioning and to be the best hockey players we can be.” Monique Lamoureux, on Team USA’s desire to defeat Canada