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UTICA, N.Y. — Team USA and Team Canada will compete in the gold medal game of the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship on Sunday.
Since 1990, when the IIHF first recognized the event, rivals have faced off for gold in 22 of the 23 women’s world championships, including last year’s tournament, which the United States won 6-3. The championship match was decided after both teams won their semifinal matches on Saturday night.
Host United States defeated Finland 5-0 in the first semifinal of the day. It took until 12 minutes into the first period for the Americans to break through Finland’s starting goalie, Sanni Ahola. Ahola got off to a great start, making 13 saves in the first 10 minutes to keep the score at 0-0 despite the American goal. Constant pressure in the offensive zone.
Ahola, 23, played college hockey in the NCAA at St. Cloud State and was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Goaltender of the Year. She made 50 saves in the loss to Finland.
Laila Edwards scored a hat trick late in the game to lead the United States in its first women’s world championship. In November 2023, Edwards became the first Black woman to play on the U.S. Senior Women’s National Team. Edwards, 20, was named to the U.S. national team and is tied for the tournament’s lead in goals (5) with her teammate Alex Carpenter.
“She stepped up in a way that no one else could,” American forward Taylor Heise said. “She has a 70 mph shot, so if she can shoot at any time, shoot, she tells her.”
“That’s why she made the team,” U.S. coach John Roblewski said. “She’s that element that she has.”
Savannah Harmon scored Team USA’s fifth and final goal. Aerin Frankel made 15 saves for her fourth shutout of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Team Canada defeated the Czech Republic 4-0 in the second semifinal of the night. Blair Turnbull scored the opening goal less than five minutes into the game, and from then on Canada never relinquished control.
Defender Jocelyn Larocque doubled the lead before the end of the first period, and Emily Clark’s goal less than two minutes into the second period gave the Czechs a big lead. Klara Peslarova made 43 saves on 47 shots, keeping the game closer than expected.
Sarah Fillier also scored for Canada. Anne-Renee Debian made all nine saves en route to the shutout.
Finland and the Czech Republic will play for the bronze medal on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET). The Czech Republic has won the last two bronze medals at the Women’s World Championships, while Finland is aiming for its first medal since 2021. The match will be a rematch of the preliminary round on April 3, when the Czech Republic defeated Finland 4-0.
The United States and Canada will play the final game of the tournament on Sunday night (5 p.m. ET). Team USA defeated Canada in the preliminary round on April 8, in a fast-paced, physical 1-0 game that went into overtime, as these teams often do.
“That might have been one of the fastest, most physical games we’ve ever played against them,” Canadian defender Renata Fast said Wednesday afternoon. “It was a really fun game to be a part of.”
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The Americans are aiming for back-to-back world championships since the team won five straight from 2013 to 2019, and their first gold medal on home ice since the 2017 Plymouth, Michigan Games.
“It’s unbelievable in this environment,” Wroblewski said of playing at Adirondack Bank Center. “I’ll never forget how many times I hear the USA chant and feel it from the bench.”
“We are very honored to be playing on our home ice and want to make the most of it,” Heise added.
Team USA will enter the gold medal match as the No. 1 seed and favorite to win as the reigning champions. No team scored more goals (31) and the tournament’s top six scorers (Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards) I am American.
But Canada has racked up plenty of wins in recent years, winning back-to-back world championships in 2021 and 2022, a dominant gold medal at the 2022 Olympics, and winning the last two rival series (7 He also won the exhibition competition. In the series, both teams play throughout the season. The Canadian team is older than the U.S. team, so the U.S. team often appears faster and more skilled, but the experience of the Canadian team’s veterans usually leads to a gold medal. This will be useful in the match you are playing.
To choose the final winner between the two teams, do a coin toss. It’s always like that.
This story will be updated.
(Photo credit: Aron Broman / Bildbyran / Sipa USA / Sipa via AP Images)
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