Statement Made: Canada's Win vs. USA Sets Up a Thrilling Rematch in Medal Round
USA head coach Joel Johnson called the Canada vs. United States women’s ice hockey rivalry the best in all of sports. After Tuesday's preliminary game between the rivals, it might be hard to disagree.
Team Canada's Sarah Nurse had similar sentiments.
“These are the games that we wake up for, and I know coming back on a quick turnaround after yesterday's game, there was no problem getting up this morning because we know it was going to be a good one,” Nurse said after a 4-2 win over the United States on Tuesday at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing.
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“Anytime we get to play the U.S., it's always a lot of fun. A lot of pride on the line, and definitely a lot of hostility out there,” Nurse said.
It may not have been an elimination game, and the result might be different should the two meet again. Nevertheless, elite-level hockey was on display, as both teams brought intensity and physicality throughout the contest.
“I think there's a little bit more that goes into it, just because we do see each other a little bit with those [exhibition] games," Team USA alternate captain Hilary Knight said after the game. "But, you know, it's a wonderful game to be able to use as a measuring stick to see what works. Me personally, I'll probably be upset about this game until 12:00 a.m. and then just focus on the next one, whoever we have.”
The game had everything we’d expect from a USA vs. Canada tilt: stellar goaltending, a penalty shot and lots of penalties. The only thing better than seeing these two North American teams play in the preliminary round of Group A is knowing there is a good chance we’ll see them Feb. 17 with an Olympic gold medal on the line.
“Every time we go in, we want to make a statement, and, you know, just show them that they don't belong on the ice with us," tournament leading scorer and Canada forward Natalie Spooner said. "And I thought, you know, today, obviously, they did play well and they got a lot of shots on our net. So I think we do have a few things to work on.”
Such a historic rivalry usually means plenty of special teams action. Canada decisively won that battle as Brianne Jenner opened the scoring late in the first period on the power play, her first of two tallies. The Canadians also contained the USA with their penalty kill, holding the Americans to just one goal in six opportunities.
Was Canada Too Physical?
Canada posted 12 penalty minutes, compared to two for the United States. The physicality is to be expected in a rivalry and is the Canadians' modus operandi. Even so, it was not the disciplined display head coach Troy Ryan wants to see from his team.
“I didn't like some of the penalties today, in particular, some of them were a bad angle coming off a line change, and then we're getting a stick in the way,” Ryan said postgame.
Through four contests, Canada has skated short-handed more than any other team in the tournament. Only Denmark and Sweden have a better penalty-kill percentage than Canada’s 91.3 percent efficiency.
The penalties gave the Canadian “power kill,” as they call it, plenty of time to shine. It also led to more work for goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Desbines Impresses in Net
Getting shots on net is exactly the game the USA wants to play, and it did so quite successfully Tuesday.
“There's no such thing as a hot hand or hot streak. It's just numbers. You got to put more on net and put yourself in a better position to have grade-A scoring opportunities,” Knight said.
In other words, shooters shoot, and the USA wants to be a team of shooters. When asked if the team was pleased with the quality of shots, Knight said, “Well, no because we didn't win, right?”
Jokes aside, Knight and USA ran across a hot Canadian goalie in Desbiens, who kept Canada in the game. She turned away 51 shots, including a masterful save on Abbey Murphy in the first period. The United States peppered her throughout, but the former Wisconsin Badgers goalie stood tall in net.
“As a goalie, you just need to give your team an opportunity to win,” Desbiens said. “I know it might not have been the start we wanted as a team, but sometimes when your team needs you, you have to be there, and that’s what I did today.”
The right saves at the right time was the name of the game for Desbiens and Team Canada.
Time to Worry About the USA Special Teams?
During the 2021 IIHF World Championships, Johnson said the United States didn’t work on special teams—neither the power play nor penalty kill—exhaustively before the tournament. After the USA lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime in the gold-medal game, Johnson took responsibility for his team not being prepared on the power play.
After the official Olympic roster was announced, he insisted special teams would be a focus for team practices ahead of the Olympics. Through four preliminary games, the United States is 4-of-19 on the skater advantage and was 1-of-6 against Canada.
“I thought we had good, high-quality scoring chances on the power play, and it didn't go in,” Johnson said.
While he conceded the primary goal on the advantage is to score goals, Johnson also noted a secondary part is generating chances and, by extension, generating momentum.
“Sometimes you can nitpick on statistics, and one of the ones is the power play. And I personally, I was pretty pleased with our power-play units.”
The United States Faces the Czech Republic in the Quarterfinals
It’s back to basics for the United States as it takes on the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
“Looking back, we had success when we're moving our feet, talking to each other—especially bench energy,” U.S. defender and 2018 Olympic gold medalist Lee Stecklein said. “I think we definitely had moments of that where it was awesome. So as much as we can do that, I think the better we'll be.”
The Czechs have been impressive in their first Olympic tournament, scoring 10 goals in four games as they finished second in Group B.
Canada Earns Top Seed in Group A
With the win Tuesday, Canada earned a sweep and the top spot in Group A. Still, it wasn't all roses for Canada on Tuesday.
"We didn’t play our best game and still found a way to win,” Ryan said. “We're comfortable with Ann in that situation, any day. We'd obviously like to manage the puck a little bit better to not put her in those situations. But in a game like this, when you get goaltending like that and your special teams come in, you find a way to win.”
Up next, the Canadians will take on Sweden in quarterfinal play on Friday.
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