(Herning, Denmark) Megan Keller had a goal and an assist to lead the United States to a 5-2 victory over Canada on Tuesday in the final game of the preliminary round of the World Women’s Hockey Championship .
Posted yesterday at 7:57 p.m.
Falling 2-0 after the first period, the Americans scored five unanswered goals, including Lacey Eden’s eventual winner 3:14 into the third period.
Hilary Knight also scored in an empty cage. In doing so, she came within one point of the all-time record of Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser, who amassed 86 points during her career in World Championship matches.
Knight already holds the mark for the most goals, with 50.
Kelly Pannek and Kendall Coyne Schofield also hit the mark for the United States, which snapped a five-game losing streak against their arch-rivals. Nicole Hensley blocked 26 shots in front of the net for the Americans.
The United States had not beaten Canada by such an impressive margin since a 4-1 victory on December 14, 2019.
“For us, what happened in the past doesn’t really matter,” Pannek remarked.
“We stayed united. I think it’s more important than scoring five goals. This is how we got there. »
Sarah Fillier and Ella Shelton provided cues for the defending champions, who didn’t generate as many scoring chances as the Americans near the opposing net and who often lost battles for the puck.
“I don’t think it necessarily happened between face-off circles. We were losing battles against them along the ramps,” said Canada head coach Troy Ryan.
“We have to be better on the ramps to get the puck between the face-off circles.”
At last year’s World Championship in Calgary, Canada edged the United States 5-1 in the preliminary round before winning 3-2 in overtime in the grand final.
“I never believed and our staff never believed that the outcome of this game would have a significant impact on the rest of this event. What was going to be important was how we were going to handle what was coming,” Ryan remarked.
We lost, and now it’s how we deal with that loss that will determine our success for the rest of the tournament.
Troy Ryan, head coach of the Canadian team
Emerance Maschmeyer made 28 saves in the loss.
“Every time you lose against the United States, it always hurts,” admitted Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin.
“Now is not the time to panic. It’s a game. It’s part of the process. It will never be perfect. The important thing for us is to show that we are resistant. »
Quarter-finals
The Americans were undefeated in their four round robin outings and finished atop the Group A standings, which includes the tournament’s top five ranked nations.
The United States will face Hungary, third in Group B, in one of four games of the quarter-final round on Thursday.
Finishing second in Group A with a record of three wins and one loss, Canada will face second-placed Sweden in Group B.
In the other two quarter-final matches, Czechia will battle Finland, while Switzerland and Japan will meet after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in Group A.
The semi-finals will follow on Saturday, while the medal matches will take place on Sunday.