Hockey’s Three Stars from Day 13 at the Olympics

After an absolute nail-biter of a match, which went to overtime and then a penalty shootout, the U.S. has finally broken Canada’s stranglehold on women’s Olympic hockey.

US coach Robb Stauber said that he “definitely [understood the reaction]” because “it’s a very heated rivalry”. While the United States won that inaugural gold medal in Nagano, it’s been Canada doing the celebrating in each of the last four Olympic cycles and the United States wiping away tears. “I think we left it all on the ice”. But last night the USA women came out on top.

With 24 medals already in the bag in PyeongChang, seven of them gold, losing a prime opportunity for a gold does not sit well. “I thought they could’ve evened it out a little more”.

The two North American rivals met again at the corresponding stage four years later in Salt Lake City, in Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi four years ago, with Canada winning gold on all three occasions. Knight redirected Sidney Morin’s shot to give the US a 1-0 lead on its third power play of the first 20 minutes. The Canadian women were also attempting to land their 5th straight gold.

It didn’t take long for Canada to put a puck in the back of the net to tie things up.

Larocque is being branded as “unsportsmanlike”, for not wearing her medal – eventually being forced to by Canadian Olympic officials who told Larocque she couldn’t hide her medal for legal reasons.

When the Canadians could not answer the game went to overtime and from there to a shootout.

No final had ever been decided by a shootout. The former’s dazzling triple-deke goal not only proved decisive score in the sixth round of shootout play, but instantly became one of the most iconic scores in American hockey history. And she said she knows what it’s like to feel you’ve let an entire country down.

“She’s a gem, talk about poise”, Marvin said.

Medals are like buses – you wait 26 years for one and then two come along on the same day.

For the United States women’s hockey team, that dream was realized at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“It gives me goosebumps”, said forward Patrick Hager, who scored what would prove to be the game-winner.