Canada-USA rivalry delivers: 5 takeaways from Women’s World Championship prelims

Apr 10, 2023; Brampton, Ontario, CAN; Canada forward Jamie Lee Rattray (47) is greeted by forward Brianne Jenner (19) after scoring the winning goal against the USA in an overtime shootout at CAA Center. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
By Hailey Salvian
Apr 11, 2023

BRAMPTON, Ont. — You’d be forgiven if you thought Monday night’s game between Canada and the United States was a gold medal game — it had all the makings of one.

There were over 20 minutes in penalties. Team USA tied the game with 3.4 seconds left in regulation. Sudden death overtime didn’t solve anything, and neither did the first eight rounds of the shootout.

Eventually, it was Jamie Lee Rattray — Canada’s 13th forward — who scored the game-winning goal in front of a packed house at the CAA Centre.

“You wouldn’t think this was a round-robin game. It felt like it was for a world championship,” said Canadian defender Jocelyne Larocque after the game. “Anytime we get to play against each other, it feels like more than just a game.”

If there were ever a time for a Canada-USA game to be a bit of a dud, it would have been Monday night. It’s a preliminary round matchup, the U.S. was playing in the second half of a back-to-back and the two sides have faced off 10 times in the last eight months. But that’s the thing about the Canada-U.S rivalry — it never disappoints.

Advertisement

“We all know those games are going until the end whistle and that’s what happened tonight,” said Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin.

“It was a pretty classic game,” said U.S. defender Lee Stecklein.

When Laura Stacey scored an empty net goal to make it 3-1 with less than three minutes remaining, it seemed like the game was done. But …

“Never over until it’s over,” said Ann-Renée Desbiens.

The end of this game was a bit more unique than your regular comeback.

Sarah Fillier appeared to make it 4-1 with two minutes remaining, but the goal was waived off due to goalie interference. Not long after, the scoreboard in the arena stopped working. Play was not stopped to fix the issue and Hilary Knight scored to pull the U.S. within one goal. While the refs tried to figure out how much time was left in the game, Canada challenged for offside. Taylor Heise very much appeared to be offside on the zone entry, but it was ruled a good goal. Then, with 3.4 seconds left in regulation, Amanda Kessel bounced a loose puck on the doorstep to tie the game.

The end result was a 4-3 Canada win, which secured the current best team in the world the No. 1 seed heading into the knockout stages of the Women’s World Championship.

With three games remaining in pool play, quarterfinal matchups won’t be confirmed until Tuesday night, though Canada, as the top team, will play against the No. 8-seeded team. Team USA will draw the No. 7 seed.

Before the quarterfinals begin on Thursday, let’s go through some takeaways from the preliminary rounds.

The Canadian way

Monday’s matchup was going to be interesting given the differences between Canada and the U.S.

The Americans have outpaced Canada in the goal column. But Canada has allowed fewer goals against. What we saw from Canada specifically on Monday night was a mix of impressive skill — Poulin going bar down, for example, or Sarah Nurse toe-dragging around Alex Carpenter — with very structured, physical and defensive play.

That is by design.

Canada is trying to embody the things that made them successful at the last gold medal-winning events: Breaking offensive records at the Olympics and being stingy defensively at the 2022 worlds in Denmark.

Fillier, who leads the tournament with four goals in four games, described the 2023 version of the team as gritty, fast and offensively dynamic. We’ve certainly seen that during the first four games of the tournament.

Advertisement

Canada had a slow start against Team USA and was being outshot 8-5 when Fillier tied the game 1-1. After that, the momentum changed and the U.S. only registered one shot on goal for the remaining seven minutes of the period. Canada outshot them in the second (9-6), and the U.S. got the edge in the third thanks to their late push.

Overall, Canada outshot the Americans, didn’t give up a ton of chances and scored goals like this:

It’s that combination that has made Canada hard to play against and hard to beat with a preliminary round win against the U.S. — and the reverse sweep at the Rivalry Series.

One critique of Canada to this point has been their finishing ability. Against Japan, they fired 60 shots on goal and only scored five goals. Canada spent a lot of time around the perimeter in that game and didn’t quite attack the middle the way they’d like to. Head coach Troy Ryan prefers high-danger chances over sheer shot volume and said “I would give some of those shots back to get a bit more quality.”

That being said, when it comes to winning a gold medal, it’s rarely about who scores the most goals in the final game. Canada and USA gold medal games are such a battle that the Canadians are focused more on all the little details that can keep them in control in a game.

“Our battle mentality, our work ethic, and doing the little things right is (so important),” explained Larocque. “We celebrate the blocked shots, the chipping the pucks out, the good forechecks, the lifting the sticks out front and we truly believe that’s what makes you successful. It’s not the flashy plays, it’s doing all those little things consistently. When we do that, we’re a hard team to play against.”

‘Running out of adjectives’ for Marie-Philip Poulin

Poulin scored her 100th international goal with Team Canada on Friday, becoming one of only four players to ever hit that mark. Hayley Wickenheiser, Danielle Goyette and Jayna Hefford each did it, and now they’re in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Poulin is bound for Hall of Fame enshrinement … eventually. Right now, though, she’s still the best player in the world and showing no signs of slowing down.

Advertisement

“I’m running out of adjectives to describe her,” said Ryan. “When we talk about the identity we want to have as a team, that’s her identity as a player. She can beat you with physicality, with defence or offence.”

Poulin has scored three goals and five points through four games and each point has been a bit different from the last.

Against Czechia, her first goal of the tournament, she finished off a two-on-one with Blayre Turnbull to get the century mark.

“She deked the pants off the goalie,” said Turnbull. “It’s pretty standard for her. She’s got such good hands in tight that she can make those plays. I think most people would catch that pass and shoot it right away, so it was cool to see the poise she had on that play.”

Then she took advantage of an open lane to score goal No. 101.

Against Japan, she showed off her hands and playmaking ability to set up Brianne Jenner for the opening goal.

And against the U.S. on Monday Poulin was set up for a one-timer right in her wheelhouse on a five-on-three power play that she made no mistake on.

For all the takeaways and analysis we can do on Canada and the U.S., at the end of the day, Canada has a player with the ability to change a game on her stick. She has an elite toolkit with a variety of ways she can beat you, and a history of showing up when it matters most.

Said Ryan: “We’re really glad she’s Canadian.”

The (American) Kids are Alright 

Heading into the tournament there were a lot of questions about Team USA and the roster that was selected. There are a lot of young players and new faces on the team with five players making their international debuts, but also veterans with plenty of experience and championship pedigree.

It’s an interesting mix, and so far, the early returns have been quite positive with a 3-1 preliminary round, outscoring opponents 25-8.

Advertisement

“You need that youth and you need that experience,” Megan Keller told The Athletic. “They give us a jump and a spark and we (as veterans) can maybe calm them down at points. When you put it together we’re a hell of a team.”

Gone are the days when young American players are stapled to the bench. At the 2021 worlds and the 2022 Olympics, younger, less experienced players saw minimal usage and the U.S. rolled with a short bench. But under coach John Wroblewski, young players have played meaningful minutes and are running with their opportunities.

The 10 skaters playing in their first or second world championship for Team USA have combined for 12 goals and 63 points — nearly half of the American goal production and 50 percent of the points.

Caroline Harvey is one of the standout young players on this U.S. team. She’s only 20 years old, but is on her third major tournament roster, which includes the 2022 Olympics. She’s perhaps the most skilled defender in the game right now with an elite blend of skating and stickhandling that allows her to jump into the U.S. offence and make things happen. On Monday, it was Knight that scored the second goal for Team USA, but it was Harvey with the play to get the puck on net. She’s averaging 19:56 per game, second only behind Keller on the American blue line. Her seven points through four games are only one point behind Taylor Heise and Finnish forward Petra Nieminen for first in points at the tournament.

Tessa Janecke has been noticeable in her second-line role with Hannah Bilka and Heise. Janecke is incredibly skilled with a great toolkit. Heise has picked up where she left off after winning an MVP at the last world championship and currently leads the team in scoring with eight points. She’s a strong player with a lot of power in her game, but also soft hands, solid vision and a great shot. Meanwhile, Bilka scored the opening goal against Canada on the power play and assisted the game-tying goal by Kessel. I know it’s early, but the Janecke, Heise, Bilka line is a lot of fun and looks like a future No. 1 line for USA Hockey.

 

My one nitpick with the roster moves: I think Grace Zumwinkle would have been the perfect winger to play with Abbey Murphy and Abby Roque on the third line. Murphy and Roque are two skilled players who play with an edge and Zumwinkle, a power forward, could have added a nice element there, but Gabbie Hughes has been fine on that line too.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway for the U.S. team is that, despite their youth, they proved on Monday night they’re never out of a game. They didn’t win on Monday, but the way they came back into the game should give them a ton of confidence in a presumed gold medal rematch.

Advertisement

“Being in the game against that Canadian team at the end is all you can ask for, I mean look at them; they’re loaded, they’re big, they’re fast, they’re skilled,” said Wroblewski. “I’m super proud of our (team) for holding them at bay and being able to take our swings when we can.

“We’re so young and there’s gotta be belief in that room that they can play with them and someday be able to beat them. Hopefully that’s Sunday and we earn our way to the gold medal game.”

Is Aerin Frankel the new No. 1?

I’ll admit, I was getting a bit concerned about my Aerin Frankel take.

When she started Sunday’s game against Czechia — and let in a soft goal in the first period — I thought for sure Nicole Hensley would get tapped against Canada on the second night of a back-to-back. But, on Monday, it was Frankel.

She looked a bit shaky to start the game and struggled with rebound control and seemed to swim in her crease at times. But, as the game went on, she settled in, made 33 saves and was incredible in the shootout. She will need to tighten up still, though. Her biggest weakness appears to be going across her crease and sealing her posts — and Canada knows it.

During the shootout, Canada’s goalie coach told the players they need to get Frankel moving. Rattray was able to do that and it decided the game.

Frankel started three of the first four games for Team USA and has allowed five goals on 72 shots (93 percent efficiency). It’s safe to assume that she will continue to get looks in the knockout stages.

Finland is on the medal hunt again

Team Finland clinched Pool B and have been a wrecking ball through the prelims, scoring 26 goals — the most at the tournament — including 14 in their opener against France, which is the most Finland has ever scored in a game.

“It shows we are back,” said Finnish forward Noora Tulus after the game. “We want to be playing for a medal. All of those goals prove we’re here to beat everyone. We’re ready.”

Advertisement

Finland was bumped to Group B after their sixth-place finish at last year’s tournament and are highly motivated to get back onto the podium. Winning their Group was the first step — that means they will have a more favourable matchup in the quarterfinals against the third-place team out of Group A. That will likely be Switzerland or Czechia — the latter they have played very well against in European tournaments this season.

Because of their rank in this tournament, Finland will be the underdogs in a quarterfinal but have history on their side. Meanwhile, Czechia has shown they can hang with Canada and the U.S. this tournament, making that an intriguing potential matchup.

(Photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Hailey Salvian

Hailey Salvian is a staff writer for The Athletic covering women’s hockey and the NHL. Previously, she covered the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators and served as a general assignment reporter. Hailey has also worked for CBC News in Toronto and Saskatchewan. Follow Hailey on Twitter @hailey_salvian