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Utica, NY — Team USA defeated Canada 1-0 in overtime on Monday night in the final qualifying match for each team for the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
The latest edition of the heated rivalry between Canada and the United States once again featured a fast-paced, physical match that understandably required additional time to adjudicate.
Kirsten Sims scored her first goal of the tournament with 1:22 left in overtime. Sims was the NCAA leading scorer this season with 75 points in 39 games and will be making her Women’s World Championship debut.
Aerin Frankel made 26 saves in the shutout.
Anne-Rene Debien is in a class of her own. A good save from Hanna Birka kept the match 0-0. pic.twitter.com/UrkPPJvyOb
— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) April 9, 2024
The game at Adirondack Bank Center drew 4,017 fans, setting a record for a hockey game at the arena.
With this win, Team USA entered the qualifying round at the top of Group A with a 4-0 record. As the No. 1 seed, the Americans will have a more favorable matchup on the way to the gold medal game.
Tuesday’s schedule includes two games to determine Group B seeding and which teams advance to the quarterfinals. The U.S. team will play the No. 8 team (either China, Denmark or Japan) in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, then play the fourth-seeded team in the semifinals.
Second-seeded Canada will play Sweden (2nd in Group B, 7th in the tournament) again in the quarterfinals. Last year, Canada needed overtime to beat Sweden 3-2 after a great performance from goaltender Emma Söderberg (PWHL Boston).
Meanwhile, the United States defeated Germany 3-0 in the quarterfinals and the Czech Republic 9-1 in the semifinals, advancing to the gold medal match. Team USA is aiming for its first consecutive World Championship title since winning five straight from 2013 to 2019, and its first win on home ice since the 207 tournament in Plymouth, Michigan.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Christinne Muschi/Canadian Press, via AP)
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