In the world of sports, a rivalry is usually shaped over time, after a multiplication of high-stakes duels where the intensity is always there. This is certainly the case of the one between Canada and the United States in women’s hockey, with a small nuance: it did not need many years to establish itself.
Few people are better placed than Quebecer France St-Louis to describe the evolution of what is now one of the most exhilarating rivalries in North American sport, but one that only came to fruition six times in Quebec in more than 30 years.
For the first time since 2017, Canadian and American hockey players will be in Quebec, first in Trois-Rivières, Monday evening, then in Laval, Wednesday evening, as part of the Rivalry Series.
These will be the final two games of a seven-game series that began with three games in the northwest of the continent in November, followed by fixtures in Nevada and Los Angeles in December. The Canadians lost the first three games before winning the next two.
They will also, already, be the 173e and 174e matches between the two countries.
If these duels add up and continue to generate interest, it is perhaps partly because of all those who launched the hostilities, an appropriate term when it comes to the Canada-United States clashes in female hockey.
France St-Louis is part of this select group. She laced the skates in the first ever “official” game between the two countries, as part of the inaugural edition of the World Championships, in Ottawa.
Canada and the United States had battled in the grand final of the tournament. The Canadian team had won the gold medal with a 5-2 victory on March 25, 1990.
St. Louis had also taken part in another duel against the United States, held three years earlier in North York, Toronto, as part of a tournament not sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Four other countries — Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and the Netherlands — had participated in this competition as well as a team representing Ontario.
Canada and the United States had crossed swords in the preliminary round, and the Canadians had won 2-1 on April 21, 1987.
“In 1987, my memory is not even of the United States and Canada,” notes St-Louis.
“In the final, we played against the Ontario team — Canada had won 4-0 — which had been formed because Ontario had a lot of players. What I remember is much more the exchange we were able to have with other countries. It was more of a gateway where people could see that there was women’s hockey elsewhere than just in Canada,” adds St-Louis, who finished first in tournament scoring.
But St. Louis would lose nothing by waiting to begin to forge memories of the epic clashes that were to follow against the United States.
“When we arrived in 1990, that’s when it all started. It was a team that was as strong as us, we had a lot more difficulty. They had good players, we had good players. They didn’t give us an inch, just like we didn’t give them an inch,” says St-Louis, who has precious memories of the atmosphere that reigned in the arena during the final in Ottawa.
172 games
Over the first 172 games of the rivalry, Canada’s teams have posted 97 wins, mostly by snatch. No less than 39 games between the two clubs required additional time – Canada won 21 of those games – and there was also a draw, 1-1, on November 11, 2004 at the Four Nations Tournament in Lake Placid .
There have been a few one-sided clashes, like Canada’s 8-0 victory in the final of the second World Championship, in Finland, on April 26, 1992. Or the 9-2 victory for the Americans in the preliminary match during another edition of the World Championship on April 7, 2012, in Burlington, Vermont.
But these are exceptions that confirm the rule.
“As a player, every time we played against the Americans, there was never a time when we walked on the ice and said to ourselves, ‘It’s going to be easy.’ It was always, ‘it’s going to be a tough game,’ and we were fighting,” said St-Louis, who retired in 1999 after five World Championship titles and an Olympic silver medal at the 1998 Games. in Nagano.
And the animosity that could reign between the two clans was palpable, assures St-Louis.
“Honestly, we didn’t like them. I played lacrosse and I would say with the Americans it was the same. I don’t know if it’s because they are close to our house. In lacrosse, I found them arrogant, and in hockey, it was the same thing. »
And physically, it was no candy. “When we went in front of the goal, it was shots on the calves. You had to pay the price to go close to the net because you were “eating” a shot in the calves, then a cross-check. It was tough. It was really tough to play against them. »
St-Louis will be among the spectators Wednesday night in Laval. She will surely feel nostalgia, but also some stress.
“It’s always stressful, because I want us to win,” admits St-Louis, when she is asked in what state of mind she watches these clashes today, more than 20 years after having stored his skates.
“I am the number one fan, as I am the number one fan of the Canadian. It is our pride. It’s the fun to see them go, especially since we have a Quebecer who, in my opinion, is the best in the world in Marie-Philip Poulin. It’s the fun to see that. »