Canada tops USA for women’s hockey world title
Canada now has 12 women’s worlds gold medals to the Americans’ nine after they defeated Team USA 2-1 on Sunday in…
Canada defeated Team USA, 2-1, in the IIHF women’s world championship final on Sunday in Denmark, as hockey’s greatest rivalry added another thrilling chapter.
Goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens made 19 saves in the win, including some in the final moments of the third period, while forward Brianne Jenner scored two goals in 1:24 during the second period.
“Sometimes you have to squeak it out at the end and rely on goaltending and blocked shots. We found a way to get it done,” said Jenner after the game.
Canada now has 12 women’s worlds gold medals to the Americans’ nine. Either the U.S. or Canada has won gold in women’s worlds every tournament since the event began in 1990. They’ve met each other in every tournament final save for 2019, when the U.S. defeated Finland for gold.
Team USA had won eight of the last 10 meetings with Canada at worlds and had won gold in five of the last six tournaments. Canada has now won gold in back-to-back IIHF world championships, to go along with their gold medal win over the Americans at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year.
The 2022 gold medal game had a scoreless first period and an uncharacteristically low number of shots between the teams. But Team Canada roared to life in the second period thanks to Jenner, who was the MVP at the Beijing Olympics. Jenner collected a pass from Canadian teammate Marie-Phillip Poulin and beat U.S. goalie Nicole Hensley at 9:30 of the second period for the 1-0 lead.
The Americans handed Canada even more momentum when Hannah Brandt went off for boarding just 26 seconds later. Jenner scored her second of the game on the ensuing power play to give Canada the 2-0 advantage. But the U.S. scored a critical goal with 21 seconds remaining in the second period, as Amanda Kessel threaded a pass across the crease to Abby Roque for a power-play goal.
The Americans pushed in the third period, including a frantic final two minutes with Hensley pulled. But Desbiens made big saves while Poulin had a critical blocked shot late in the game to preserve the win.
The loss was Team USA’s first at the 2022 world championships, having gone undefeated in preliminary and playoff play, where they outscored their three opponents 25-1. The U.S. had previously defeated Canada, 5-2, in group play.
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