Women’s Worlds: Canada prevails over USA in shootout thriller

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
Apr 10, 2023, 23:09 EDT
Women’s Worlds: Canada prevails over USA in shootout thriller
Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA and Team Canada always seem to have great matchups in international competition, and Monday’s showdown at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship was no different.

It was a game with a little bit of everything: lead changes, disallowed goals, a power outage, overtime penalties, and a nine-round shootout. In the end, the Canadians prevailed by a 4–3 score.

Jamie Lee Rattray won it for Canada in the skills competition, dragging the puck past the outstretched paddle of Team USA goaltender Aerin Frankel before depositing the dagger into the yawning cage.

Team USA took a 1–0 lead in the first period off a goal by Hannah Bilka before Sarah Fillier knotted it up less than four minutes later with her fourth goal of the tournament.

Fillier then helped set up the inevitable Marie-Philip Poulin go-ahead goal at the 3:08 mark of the second period, with Erin Ambrose drawing the other helper. And when Laura Stacey gave Canada a 3–1 lead with just 2:27 remaining in regulation, it looked like the red-and-white faithful in Brampton would be able to go home happy.

Not so fast.

Hilary Knight beat Canadian goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens with 39 seconds left to bring Team USA back within one. Although Team Canada protested that the play was offside (and even though the scoreboard inside CAA Centre actually lost power during the play), the goal stood.

That set the stage for the improbable to become possible, and Amanda Kessel stepped up to make the comeback a reality with just four seconds left in regulation.

Bilka and Taylor Heise recorded the assists on Kessel’s second goal of the tournament (and the 17th World Championship goal of her career). Next stop: overtime.

Even though both Canada and the USA had power play chances in overtime, neither club was able to score. Canada controlled the shots on goal 4–1 in the extra frame.

As mentioned above, the shootout went nine rounds. After Knight and Brianne Jenner traded goals in the first round, neither team scored again until the very end.

Poulin took two attempts and came up empty on both. Knight lost control of the puck on her second try. But finally, Rattray came through in the bottom of the ninth round to seal the deal for the hosts.

With the win, Team Canada seized control of first place in Group A with a 3–1–0–0 record in the round-robin. They’ll take on the third-ranked team in Group B in their first elimination round game; Team USA will face the No. 2 seed in Group B.

Quick hits

  • Team Switzerland and Team Japan fought to the bitter end in an excellent undercard matchup right before the Border Battle. After Japan took a 2–0 lead into the first intermission off goals by Remi Koyama and Yoshino Enomoto, Switzerland struck back with two of their own to kick off the second period. Aoi Shiga made it 3–2 for Japan late in the middle frame, but then, in predictable fashion, Alina Muller took over with a goal and an assist in the third period to seal a 4–3 win for the Swiss.
  • After picking up five assists in the first three games of the 2023 Worlds, Team Finland captain Jenni Hiirikoski scored her first international goal since undergoing neck surgery in March to help her team to a 5–0 victory over Team Hungary. Five different players found the back of the net for Finland, which wrapped up its stint in Group B with a perfect 4–0–0–0 record and a +23 goal differential. The Finns’ next test: either Switzerland or Czechia in the elimination round.

Monday’s results

Team Hungary 0, Team Finland 5

Team Switzerland 4, Team Japan 3

Team Canada 4, Team USA 3 (SO)

Tuesday’s games

Team Hungary vs. Team Germany — 11:00 a.m. ET

Team Sweden vs. Team France — 3:00 p.m. ET

Team Czechia vs. Team Switzerland — 7:00 p.m. ET

All games at CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont.

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