Tonight’s game will be the return of hockey’s most fierce and legendary rivalry. Winter Olympicsaction at 11:10 pm. ET: Team USA and Canada will face off in the final round of their preliminary round women’s tournament game.
Both teams are currently 3-0 group play. They have been combined to outscore their opponents 47-5. They’re available on another plane of existenceIt is a distinct distinction from international women’s hockey and has been for many decades.
Since 1998, when the Olympics started their women’s hockey tournament in Canada, Canada has won four times gold (2002, 2006 and 2010, 2014), while the U.S. has won two times, in 1998 and 2018, when it won the 3-2 shootout. This ended a streak of two consecutive gold medal game losses for Canada.
These teams have a dominance that extends beyond the Olympics. Canada and the U.S. have been the winners of the tournament since 1990, when the International Ice Hockey Federation hosted its first women’s world championship. There have been only two championship games between 1990 and now — the 2006 Olympic final in Torino (Italy) when Canada beat Sweden, and the 2019 IIHF Worlds final when the U.S. beat Finland. Canada and Team USA are not the last two standing teams.
Canada and us share a special bond that creates great hockey and beautiful rivalries. After the 8-0 victory against Switzerland, Hilary Knight, U.S. forward, said that she was looking forward to it and that they were too.
Knight, who scored three goals and assisted in two games, is one of many returning stars in the rivalry to the Winter Games in Beijing. Team USA has backwards Amanda Kessel (2 goals and 3 assists) as well as Kendall Coyne Schofield (2 games, 1 assist), who are both from the gold-medal winning team. Canada welcomes back star forward Natalie Spooner (2 Goals, 10 Assists), who leads the 2022 Olympics’ scoring. Forwards Sarah Nurse (4 Goals, 3 Assists) and Rebecca Johnston (2 Goals, 4 Assists), who are in her fourth Olympics. Forward Marie-Philip Poulin (1 Goal, 5 Assists), who scored two goals during Canada’s gold medal win over the Americans in 2010 and 2014.
Remember that this is just for seeding. All teams in Group A which includes Canada and America automatically reach the quarterfinals.
While it is true that rivals can meet up, it doesn’t mean they will be able to win. It is reallyInformation about “seeding purpose”
The state of the rivalry
The Americans won the three IIHF World Championships that followed, defeating Canada in the gold medal match at the 2014 Winter Olympics. In Pyeongchang, they defeated their archrivals to win the Olympic gold. They didn’t face each other again until 2021 when Canada beat the United States 3-2 in overtime to win IIHF World Championship for the first time since 2012.
The COVID-19 pandemic cut short the nine-game “rivalry series” that was to lead up to the 2022 Winter Games. From October to December, the teams played six games. Canada won four, with the other two in St. Louis. Three of the six games were decided by overtime. Four of the games were decided by one goal.
Kessel stated, “Our team is right there we need to be” “We had several games canceled against them in the past few months so we have been waiting to get another chance at them.”
The new faces
Some of the key players who were part of the team that beat Canada in Pyeongchang for gold went missing from the U.S. Twins Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-DavidsonThe shootout goal was scored by Gigi Marvin, and both have since retired. Forwards Meghan Duggan, Gigi Marvin and Kacey Bellamy both moved on. The Americans currently have 13 players who won gold in South Korea. However, Forward Brianna Decker won’t be playing for the remainder of the tournament in Beijing. injured her legIn a fall during their tournament opening victory over Finland.
Savannah Harmon, defender, has scored a goal and four assists in three games. Alex Carpenter and Jesse Compher, forwards, have each scored three goals and provided an assist in three games. Carpenter is both new and familiar. She was a competitor for the U.S. in 2014 Sochi Olympic but was dropped from the roster in 2018.
Canada’s most important missing player is goalie Shannon Szabados (35), who has been part of every Olympic team since 2006 and is one the most prominent netminders in women’s hockey history. While the Canadians have 13 players returning from Pyeongchang, key 2018 players forward Meghan Aosta and defender Laura Fortino won’t be there, they do have key players.
Sarah Fillier, forward, is 21 years old and the youngest member of the roster. In her three first Olympic games, she scored five goals. She holds the record for Olympic tournament goals at nine and is now halfway to the goal before the prelims.
What the stats tell us
Canada has won all three of its preliminary games with a goal differential +26. They scored 29 goals while surrendering three. The U.S. comes in second place for goal differential (+16), with 18 goals scored and only 2. Canada is second in goal differential (+16), scoring 18 goals and giving up just 2.
Keep an eye out for special teams. Canada’s power play is the most efficient in the tournament (41.7% conversion rate per five goals). The United States has scored three goals from 13 power-play opportunities (23.1%). This is a good sign. The power play of the United States went 3-for-25 against Canada last year in the world championships.
For the U.S., Beijing’s penalty kill is more concerning. It has been shorthanded only six times. It has also given up two power-play goals. Canada, on the other hand, has eliminated 16 of 17 opposing power plays.
Expect a tight game. Expect a physical match. Expect an intense match. Nothing less is possible for USA vs. Canada.