Canada Defeats USA in Women's Hockey to Win Group A at 2022 Winter Olympics

In a potential preview of the women's ice hockey gold-medal game, Canada defeated Team USA 4-2 in a preliminary round matchup at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Both teams entered the game 3-0 in group play and held wins over Finland, the Russian Olympic Committee and Switzerland. All five teams in Group A were guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals, so Canada earned the higher seed for the quarterfinals with the victory.

Team USA was on the attack early, putting a ton of pressure on Canada's back line. But Canadian goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens was a wall in front of the net, recording 16 saves in the first period alone.

Canada's Brianne Jenner broke the scoreless tie with a power-play goal at the 14:10 mark in the first.

Things got a little wild in the second period with some offensive fireworks. Dani Cameranesi got Team USA on the board midway through the frame, and Alex Carpenter followed up two minutes later to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead.

But Canada scored three unanswered goals in the next five-and-a-half minutes to take a commanding 4-2 lead heading into the third.

Jenner scored her second of the night, Jamie Lee Rattray found the back of the net a couple of minutes later and Marie-Philip Poulin put the nail in the coffin on a penalty shot.

The United States continued to apply the pressure in the final period and had some opportunities in front of the net. Desbiens remained a stalwart in the net, though, and Canada's defense collected itself.

Team USA had a power-play opportunity midway through the period, but Canada had six blocks on the possession to maintain the two-goal advantage.

The U.S. pulled goalie Madison Rooney with 2:37 left and had a power-play opportunity. But Canada held once again to cap an impressive performance. The U.S. finished with 53 shots on goal, but Desbiens saved 51 of them.

The United States and Canada are the only two countries to win Olympic gold in women's ice hockey, with Canada winning four times and the U.S. twice. The last time the two teams met in the Winter Olympics was the 2018 gold-medal game, which the United States won 3-2 in a shootout. 

Canada has been a juggernaut throughout these Games. The team had outscored its previous three opponents 29-3. Team USA was coming off back-to-back shutout wins over Switzerland and the ROC. 

This was the ninth meeting between the United States and Canada in the Winter Olympics. Canada has a 6-3 advantage overall with a 3-2 edge in gold-medal games.

The women's quarterfinals will begin Friday. It would be a massive surprise if these two teams don't meet again in the gold-medal game.