BEIJING – Dominant since the first day of the Olympic tournament, the Canadians put a final exclamation point to their Olympic adventure by beating the Americans, 3-2, last night. They bring the gold back to the country after an absence of four years.
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This time, this meeting at the top did not end dramatically in overtime or a shootout. Canada did the job in regular time to win the fourth women’s gold medal in its history.
Marie-Philip Poulin, again, terrorized the Americans throughout the game. “Captain Clutch” lived up to its nickname.
Not only did the Quebecer score twice, but she also became the first Canadian player to score in four different Olympic finals, all genders combined.
Big star of this sixth duel in the final between Canada and the United States, Poulin participated in the three goals of his own in addition to handcuffing the opposing attack.
Quick replica
The Canadians started the match timidly, visibly nervous. The Americans got the first chance to score when Hilary Knight’s shot, left alone at the mouth of the net, hit the post.
After a few minutes, Troy Ryan’s troop really began to purr like the power that had largely dominated the tournament.
The disallowed goal to Natalie Spooner due to an offside at the entrance of the attacking territory really started the steamroller.
A minute later, posted at the top of the slot, Sarah Nurse, the top scorer in the maple leaf and in the tournament, redirected a pass from young Claire Thomson.
It was enough for the Canadians to take complete control of the game. Aggressive, they applied continuous pressure on their rivals unable to generate the attack also due to tight defensive coverage.
Poulin in history
In a sustained forecheck, Poulin dealt a hard blow to his eternal American adversaries. They let her maneuver as she pleased in the offensive zone. A very dangerous game, because the athlete of the big occasions hit the mark thanks to a veiled shot which deceived the vigilance of the American door, Alex Cavallini.
The best Canadian player of all time did it again in the second period. On an overrun, the puck suddenly appeared on his stick blade as it raced into the net. We can guess that she did not miss such an opportunity to score her 17th Olympic goal, amassing at the same time a 52nd career point against the Americans. With a 3-0 lead, the Canadians did not release the pressure. Intense, they chased the puck like a hungry dog throws itself on a bone.
Desbiens guards the fortress
The representatives of the Stars and Stripes ended up finding a small flaw at the end of the middle period. Shorthanded, the leading scorer, Knight, pounced on a loose puck twirling in the semi-circle of Ann-Renée Desbiens.
A success that instilled some confidence in a distinctly Canadian dominance. Although they had already directed 24 pucks to Desbiens, the true scoring chances were not that many.
Trailing by two goals, they picked up the pace in the last 20 minutes, but to no avail. The Quebec carrier stood guard by making 15 saves before yielding to numerical inferiority with 13 seconds to go.
Desbiens finally saved 38 pucks.
Last summer, Canada defeated the United States in overtime at the World Championship. Poulin scored the winning goal to bring home the gold, a first since 2012.