(Ottawa) The crowd in the full-blown arena may not have gotten the result they were looking for on Tuesday night, but they got a glimpse of what the best of women’s hockey will look like at the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.
Maddie Rooney completed a shutout for the United States Women’s National Team, stopping 26 shots in a 2-0 win over Canada in Game 4 of the Rivalry Series.
Hillary Knight and Amanda Kessel scored for the Americans.
Ann-Renée Desbiens made 18 saves for Canada.
The series is tied 2-2 after Canada won the first two games and the Americans battled for a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday.
“I think one of the big takeaways is it’s going to be a battle until the end,” said Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan. “It’s going to be competitive. ”
Canada had the backing of 8,385 spectators at TD Place in Ottawa on Tuesday, but started the third period trailing 2-0 and were unable to give fans the result they wanted .
With 3:22 to go, Hannah Brandt of the United States was fined for delaying the game and Canada called Desbiens out for a sixth forward, but the home side were unable to beat Rooney.
“It’s just a common phrase, but your goalie is your best weapon to kill a penalty and I thought Maddie was fantastic,” said US head coach Joel Johnson. “Not just shorthanded, but overall. ”
Canada dominated the game early in the second, but penalties allowed the Americans to take a 2-0 lead at the end of the period.
“I think we just learned that we have to play our way and do the things that make us successful and we got away from that a bit in the second period,” said Canadian forward Jamie Lee Rattray. “Honestly, when we stay disciplined and start playing that way, it’s very difficult to compete with us. ”
The United States got on the board in their first power play of the game, as Megan Kellar’s point shot deflected onto Knight’s skate to beat Desbiens.
Canada then suffered back-to-back tripping penalties and the Americans took advantage, scoring in a 5-on-3 when Kessel landed a shot on reception.
“I think the bottom line is that with the penalties that we take, we have to be a lot more selective in the types of penalties that we take,” said Ryan. “We can’t take these kinds of costly penalties and give them a chance to win. ”
A scoreless first period accentuated the rivalry between the two teams.
Desbiens and Rooney were strong, the two goalies had to make some big saves to keep the score 0-0.
The game was a rare opportunity for Jamie Lee Rattray to play in front of fans in her hometown as she grew up in the suburb of Kanata, 20 minutes west of downtown Ottawa.
Canada’s women’s team will remain in Ottawa as they compete in the Capital City Challenge, a four-team tournament featuring three National Men’s Under-17 teams.
The Rivalry series will travel to the United States next month with games December 15-17 in St. Louis and December 20 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Canada unveils its jerseys
As the Olympic Winter Games approach, Hockey Canada unveiled the three jerseys that the men’s, women’s and para-hockey teams will wear in Beijing.
They were revealed Tuesday night, during the televising of the game between the Canadians and the Americans, in Ottawa.
“We know how passionate hockey fans are and that from coast to coast to coast they will be cheering on the crème de la crème of Canada by wearing our new jerseys,” said Tom Renney, CEO of Hockey Canada.
“We can’t wait to wear these spectacular jerseys on the ice in Beijing. ”
The sweater highlights the famous maple leaf.
The red sweater has a black maple leaf as its badge, while the white sweater has a red maple leaf.
The third sweater has a black maple leaf surrounded by a red line, on a black base color.
The Olympiad will take place from February 4 to 20, and the Paralympics from March 4 to 13.