Canada and the United States played for the 33rd time in Women's Worlds competition tonight. And what a wild ride it was!
photo: Andrea Cardin/IIHF
In likely the craziest finish in the storied Canada-United States rivalry, Jamie Lee Rattray scored in the 9th round of the penalty-shot shootout to give Canada a 4-3 win over the United States before a rowdy crowd of 4,322 at CAA Centre.
Both teams scored in the first round of the shots, and then 15 skaters failed to convert until Rattray made a nice deke coming in off the wing.
The win gives Canada top spot in Group A with a 3-1-0-0 record, and they will play the third place team in Group B in one quarter-finals on Thursday. The Americans, 3-0-1-0, will finish second and will play B2, also on Thursday.
Marie-Philip Poulin's goal with a two-skater advantage early in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and looked to be the winning goal for Canada, and a Laura Stacey empty netter at 17:33 certainly seemed to seal the deal.
But then all hell broke loose.
U.S. captain Hilary Knight scored with 39 seconds left and all the clocks in the building dark. After a lengthy delay, and a Canada challenge, the goal counted, play resumed and the U.S. charged back into Canada territory, tying the game with 3.4 seconds left in regulation when Amanda Kessel jammed a loose puck in.
In the overtime, Canada had a power play and couldn't convert, and soon after Ann-Renee Desbiens stoned Hilary Knight with a game-saving glove grab.
"A hockey game is never over until it's over," Desbiens philosophised, "and we saw that today. We're really proud of how we reacted in overtime. We kept going and still found a way to win. We're very resilient and always end a way to win. Tonight was a new way!"
"This game was a lot of fun," said Knight, who went 0-3 in the shootout. "It didn't go our way at the end but what a game fro the fans, for us, such a young team. Positives all around. I think there are some really positive takeaways. I think the things that bit us, we clean up. It's really encouraging the way our group fought. I don't think this group has had a much like that in a really long time."
This marked the 33rd time the teams have played at Women's Worlds. Canada now holds a 17-16 advantage with a goals differential of 95-91. It's that close.
Tonight, however, marked only the third time in those 33 games that the result was decided by a shootout. The U.S. won their first-ever gold on shots in 2005, and Canada won in 2013.
The Canadians had the first opportunity early when they drew a power play, but despite some good pressure the U.S. PK bent but didn’t break. Indeed, it was the visitors who opened the scoring with their own 5-on-4 off a faceoff win. Hannah Bilka controlled the puck and wired a shot over the shoulder of Desbiens, who was celebrating her 29th birthday today.
The U.S. had a great chance to double their lead soon after when Hayley Scamurra got the puck in the same spot as Bilka. She, too, aimed over the blocker, but this time Desbiens was there to make the save.
"I think the thing we appreciate about her is just her calm presence," Hart said. "Especially as a D, you know that no matter what happens she's going to be calm and she's going to play her game. I think it's really easy to play in front of a goalie who does that."
Canada tied the game at 12:38 after a nice rush by Sarah Nurse. Frankel made the initial save, and the rebound off Nurse again, but Sarah Fillier banged in the puck with the third try to even the score. It was her team-best fourth goal and sixth point of the tournament.
"It was just a quick transition," said Micah Zandee-Hart, who started the play. "Jamie threw the puck across, and I kind of missed the pass and I saw I was getting pressured, but I had to get it in so I just threw my stick on it and Nurse and Filly did their thing and it was in the back of the net."
The Americans ran into penalty trouble last night against Czechia, and they repeated their undisciplined ways in the second period tonight. They incurred four infractions in a row, two overlapping and giving Canada a 5-on-3 for 39 seconds. It didn’t take long for them to connect. Erin Ambrose teed up a pass for Marie-Philip Poulin, and Captain Clutch ripped a shot over Frankel’s glove at 3:08.
But Canada grew complacent with the extra skater and didn’t do much else with all their power-play time, save a post off a long-distance shot from defender Claire Thompson. Canada had to kill off a penalty of its own later, and did a masterful job. Although the Canadians had the lead after two, the U.S. had to feel hopeful given they were down a goal but outplayed and outshot, 22-15, through 40 minutes.
Penalties again factored into the third. Canada incurred two quick minors but halfway through the second of that number the U.S. got one for too many skaters when goalie Aerin Frankel cleared a puck towards her bench on a line change. Canada played great team defence and limited American shots as the clock wound down.
Laura Stacey added an empty netter with 2:27 to play, and that seemed to be the winner. It wasn't. Not by a long shot.
"It was a bit of a weird end to the game," Fillier added. "I think we got into every special situation we could have, but it's still early in the tournament for us, so we're still focusing on our structure. It's all about getting better."
Both teams scored in the first round of the shots, and then 15 skaters failed to convert until Rattray made a nice deke coming in off the wing.
The win gives Canada top spot in Group A with a 3-1-0-0 record, and they will play the third place team in Group B in one quarter-finals on Thursday. The Americans, 3-0-1-0, will finish second and will play B2, also on Thursday.
Marie-Philip Poulin's goal with a two-skater advantage early in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and looked to be the winning goal for Canada, and a Laura Stacey empty netter at 17:33 certainly seemed to seal the deal.
But then all hell broke loose.
U.S. captain Hilary Knight scored with 39 seconds left and all the clocks in the building dark. After a lengthy delay, and a Canada challenge, the goal counted, play resumed and the U.S. charged back into Canada territory, tying the game with 3.4 seconds left in regulation when Amanda Kessel jammed a loose puck in.
In the overtime, Canada had a power play and couldn't convert, and soon after Ann-Renee Desbiens stoned Hilary Knight with a game-saving glove grab.
"A hockey game is never over until it's over," Desbiens philosophised, "and we saw that today. We're really proud of how we reacted in overtime. We kept going and still found a way to win. We're very resilient and always end a way to win. Tonight was a new way!"
"This game was a lot of fun," said Knight, who went 0-3 in the shootout. "It didn't go our way at the end but what a game fro the fans, for us, such a young team. Positives all around. I think there are some really positive takeaways. I think the things that bit us, we clean up. It's really encouraging the way our group fought. I don't think this group has had a much like that in a really long time."
This marked the 33rd time the teams have played at Women's Worlds. Canada now holds a 17-16 advantage with a goals differential of 95-91. It's that close.
Tonight, however, marked only the third time in those 33 games that the result was decided by a shootout. The U.S. won their first-ever gold on shots in 2005, and Canada won in 2013.
The Canadians had the first opportunity early when they drew a power play, but despite some good pressure the U.S. PK bent but didn’t break. Indeed, it was the visitors who opened the scoring with their own 5-on-4 off a faceoff win. Hannah Bilka controlled the puck and wired a shot over the shoulder of Desbiens, who was celebrating her 29th birthday today.
The U.S. had a great chance to double their lead soon after when Hayley Scamurra got the puck in the same spot as Bilka. She, too, aimed over the blocker, but this time Desbiens was there to make the save.
"I think the thing we appreciate about her is just her calm presence," Hart said. "Especially as a D, you know that no matter what happens she's going to be calm and she's going to play her game. I think it's really easy to play in front of a goalie who does that."
Canada tied the game at 12:38 after a nice rush by Sarah Nurse. Frankel made the initial save, and the rebound off Nurse again, but Sarah Fillier banged in the puck with the third try to even the score. It was her team-best fourth goal and sixth point of the tournament.
"It was just a quick transition," said Micah Zandee-Hart, who started the play. "Jamie threw the puck across, and I kind of missed the pass and I saw I was getting pressured, but I had to get it in so I just threw my stick on it and Nurse and Filly did their thing and it was in the back of the net."
The Americans ran into penalty trouble last night against Czechia, and they repeated their undisciplined ways in the second period tonight. They incurred four infractions in a row, two overlapping and giving Canada a 5-on-3 for 39 seconds. It didn’t take long for them to connect. Erin Ambrose teed up a pass for Marie-Philip Poulin, and Captain Clutch ripped a shot over Frankel’s glove at 3:08.
But Canada grew complacent with the extra skater and didn’t do much else with all their power-play time, save a post off a long-distance shot from defender Claire Thompson. Canada had to kill off a penalty of its own later, and did a masterful job. Although the Canadians had the lead after two, the U.S. had to feel hopeful given they were down a goal but outplayed and outshot, 22-15, through 40 minutes.
Penalties again factored into the third. Canada incurred two quick minors but halfway through the second of that number the U.S. got one for too many skaters when goalie Aerin Frankel cleared a puck towards her bench on a line change. Canada played great team defence and limited American shots as the clock wound down.
Laura Stacey added an empty netter with 2:27 to play, and that seemed to be the winner. It wasn't. Not by a long shot.
"It was a bit of a weird end to the game," Fillier added. "I think we got into every special situation we could have, but it's still early in the tournament for us, so we're still focusing on our structure. It's all about getting better."