It’s virtually a rite of winter for the U.S. women’s hockey team to face Canada in a battle for an Olympic gold medal.
The American squad have punched their ticket in that gold medal game in emphatic fashion, scoring a series of blowout wins that even included a shutout win over their Canadian rivals in round-robin play.
For Canada, the road was slightly more complicated, but they have managed to get back to the gold medal game after beating Switzerland 2-1 on Monday in Italy.
Here’s what to know about the renewal of hockey’s biggest rivalry.
How did the U.S., Canada get here?
The United States has cruised through the tournament with ease, outscoring their opponents 31-1 and pulling off a shutout streak of more than 330 minutes, shattering the Olympic record in that category.
That run included a 5-0 win over Canada in the round-robin play, and the U.S. has scored back-to-back shutouts in the knockout stages of the tournament.
As for Canada, they’ve mostly cruised as they’ve badly outshot most teams, including Switzerland on Monday, but they’ve had a few stumbles, including their defeat at the hands of the U.S. and in a 2-1 win over Switzerland that saw the team had to fend off a Swiss comeback effort in the third period.
The Illinois native in her forth Olympics scored in the second period with assists from Leila Edwards and Megan Keller. U.S. beat Sweden 5-0 and advanced to Thursday’s final.
How close is the rivalry on the scoreboard?
Not surprisingly, Team USA and Canada are barely separated on the scoreboard in 11 all-time matchups in Olympic play, with the United States now holding a 29-27 lead after their round-robin victory.
How often have the U.S. and Canada met in the gold medal game?
Since women’s hockey was added to the Olympic program in 1998, the United States and Canada have played in all but one of the gold medal games. Canada has won six gold medals in
The United States and Canada have battled for the gold medal in all but one Olympics since women’s hockey was added to the program in 1998. Canada has won four of the matchups with the United States in the gold medal game, and the United States has won twice, including in 2018.
Overall, Canada owns a 7-4 lead over the United States in their Olympic meetings.
Women’s hockey defender Caroline Harvey got two assists in Team USA’s 6-0 defeat of Italy on Friday.
Who are the biggest stars of the Games?
For the United States, Caroline Harvey has had an incredible coming out party in the Olympics, leading all players with nine points as she’s registered two goals and seven assists.
Hannah Bilka has racked up four goals in Olympic competition, while Kendall Coyne-Schofield has three.
Goaltender Aerin Frankel has registered three shutouts and has allowed just one goal on 68 shots faced.
Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin bounced back from a lower-body injury and has registered three goals in four games, while Sarah Fillier has three goals and has taken 18 shots in the tournament.
Daryl Watts has six assists in six games, second in the tournament behind only Harvey.
When will the gold medal game be played?
The gold medal game between the United States and Canada will take place at 12:10 p.m. Central time on Thursday, and the game will air on USA Network.
