The American and Canadian ladies’s hockey groups will spend Thursday afternoon precisely the place they anticipated to be from the beginning of the Olympic Video games: enjoying within the gold medal recreation.
The suspense in Beijing was virtually by no means going to be within the matchup. The 2 nations have fought over the gold medal in each Video games however one since ladies’s hockey turned an Olympic sport in 1998. The true questions have been concerning the circumstances of the groups headed into one other tilt, and, after all, the end result after 60 minutes (or extra time, as in 2014, or, as in 2018, a shootout).
The Canadians, who’ve scored an Olympic-record 54 objectives throughout their keep in Beijing, need to dethrone the People as Olympic champions. They’ll arrive for his or her ultimate recreation at Wukesong Sports activities Middle with three of the 5 main scorers of those Video games: Brianne Jenner (9), Sarah Fillier (8) and Jamie Lee Rattray (5).
The People have put up fewer factors total, however Hilary Knight, who’s enjoying in her fourth Video games for the US, can be among the many match’s scoring leaders, with 5 objectives.
Each groups may even ship skilled goaltenders onto the ice. The US has relied on three formidable netminders — Alex Cavallini, Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney — who’ve allowed a complete of eight objectives. Canada accounts for half of that whole, from when it beat the People, 4-2, in a preliminary spherical recreation.
Canada will ship Ann-Renée Desbiens to the crease, once more wagering that she’s going to thwart the aggressive American offense.
Anticipate plentiful velocity, notably from Kendall Coyne Schofield, the American captain and one of many world’s quickest skaters.
“It’s the best attribute of my recreation,” she stated in an interview final month. The game, she added, was changing into speedier as a complete.
“It’s getting sooner due to the coaching, the innovation behind coaching mechanisms, the innovation behind restoration mechanisms and simply the evolution of coaching and skating,” she stated. “I believe gamers are working exhausting, however they’re additionally working smarter.”
The Canadians, awfully speedy themselves, are bracing for the onslaught.
“Clearly, once we play the People, it’s a quick recreation,” stated Sarah Nurse, a Canadian ahead. “And so it’s about actually spreading them out, not getting too in tight, moving into corners, however actually spreading out their protection so we will create offense.”
The sport, at 11:10 p.m. Jap time on Wednesday, will air on NBC.
Supply: NY Times