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One of the fiercest and longest-running rivalries in global sports and women’s hockey, the United States vs. Canada, is about to add a new chapter to the World Championship.
On Sunday, border nations and women’s ice hockey powerhouses will clash for the gold medal for the 22nd time out of 23 competitions since the championship was founded in 1990.
The defending champion Americas advanced with a 5-0 win over Finland on Saturday. In the game, Laila Edwards had a natural hat trick and Aeryn Frankel stopped 15 shots, setting a single-conference record with her fourth shutout.
The Canadians then defeated the Czech Republic (commonly known in English as the Czech Republic) 4-0. Emily Clark and Jocelyn Larocque each had a goal and an assist, and Anne-Reny Desbiens stopped nine shots for her second shutout of the tournament.
Forward Taylor Heise wasn’t picky about his opponent, as the Americans qualified first.
“It doesn’t matter which team, when or where you play. You can play outside as much as you like,” Heise said. “Either way, we’re going to fight hard.”
But of all the tournaments where the Czech Republic, Finland and Germany showed signs of starting to close the competitive gap, the U.S.-Canada matchup tends to produce the most memorable matches. That included Monday’s physical, fast-paced, end-to-end qualifying round matchup, which the Americans won 1-0 on an overtime goal from Kirsten Sims.
Edwards was one of four U.S. players to make his tournament debut, along with Sims.
“She stepped up in a way that no one else could. And I’m so proud of her,” said Heise, who scored Edwards’ final two goals. “I’m glad she was able to prove it to herself. Because when you get picked for a team like this when you’re young, it takes a lot like that to prove to yourself that there’s a reason you’re here. But we all knew that all along.”
Edwards, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall, is from Cleveland and was the first black hockey player to be a member of the U.S. national team. Finishing her second season at the University of Wisconsin, she is one of four American players to make her tournament debut and currently ranks second with teammate Alex Carpenter with five goals. They share the top spot in the tournament.
“I think it’s pretty good,” Edwards said of her growing confidence. “I’m confident in the team anyway. So it always helps my personal confidence. It’s good to know that the team is going well and everyone is playing their best and sharing the puck and doing all kinds of things. When you’re doing something, it really gives you confidence.”
Hannah Birka and Savannah Harmon also scored for the United States, which continued its perfect record by appearing in every World Championship final since the tournament was founded in 1990.
The two world powerhouses in women’s hockey have won 21 of 22 world finals, with the only exception being 2019, when hosts Finland defeated Canada in the semifinals and lost to the United States in a 2-1 penalty shootout. are competing against each other. Last year, the Americans won 6-3 at the tournament outside Toronto, ending Canada’s two-year gold medal streak. (Canada defeated the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.)
The United States, which defeated Canada 6-3 in last year’s final, won 10 world gold medals to Canada’s 12. In tournament play, the USA was 18-17 overall against Canada, with both teams scoring 98 points. Canada, on the other hand, has the upper hand in Olympic competition with five gold medals to America’s two.
Sanni Ahola made 50 saves in Finland’s 55-15 loss, playing in front of loud cheers of “USA!” united states of america! ” A crowd sings in central New York.
“We fought hard, but the United States was very strong,” Ahola said. “They were very strong and fast, so we are trying to survive. We didn’t have many chances, but we should have taken advantage of them better.”
In the second semifinal, Canada led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Larocque and Breia Turnbull. Sarah Fillier scored for Canada (5-1), which also defeated the Czech Republic 5-0 in the preliminary round.
Klara Peslarova stopped 43 shots for the Czech Republic, which has a chance to win the bronze medal for the third year in a row.
Earlier in the day, former Northeastern University star and PWHL Boston member Alina Muller was shot four minutes into overtime in Switzerland’s 3-2 playoff win over Germany. Scored 07 seconds. The victory confirmed Switzerland’s place in the top five countries in Group A, while Germany remains in Group B, which will include five nations ahead of next year’s World Championships.
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