U.S. Rolls Past Canada 10–4 in Rivalry Series Showdown
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By Ava Tremblay
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Summary:
- Kelly Pannek and Abbey Murphy each scored twice
- Canada briefly closed the gap late in the second, but defensive mistakes and turnovers let the U.S. take over again in the third.
- The teams meet one last time Saturday in Edmonton before heading into February’s Olympic Games.
The U.S. women’s team put together a dominant night on Wednesday, defeating Canada 10–4 in the latest Rivalry Series matchup.
Kelly Pannek and Abbey Murphy each scored twice, setting the tone early for an American group that looked sharp from the opening shift.
Kendall Coyne Schofield added a goal and two assists, and the U.S. got scoring from all over the lineup. Tessa Janecke, Jesse Compher, Britta Curl-Salemme, Alex Carpenter and Kirsten Simms also found the back of the net.
Canada scored less than a minute into the game, but the U.S. responded with five straight goal, a pattern that they repeated in the third, when they piled on four more in a row.
Gwyneth Philips had a busy night but held her ground, stopping 30 shots for the win.
Rough Night in the Net for Canada
Canada, however, did generate some offence, with Sophie Jaques scoring twice, Sarah Fillier having a goal and an assist, and Julia Gosling adding another. Even so, giving up 10 goals to the U.S. marked a first for Canada in this rivalry. Until now, the most they had ever allowed was nine, back in 2012.
It was a tough outing in net for Canada. Ann-Renée Desbiens, making her first start of the series, allowed five goals on 17 shots before being replaced midway through the second period. Emerance Maschmeyer came in and stopped seven of 12.
The game had some promising moments for Canada, especially late in the second period when they scored three times, including two in the final minutes, to pull within two. Jaques’ second goal stood after a review for potential goalie interference, and the delay-of-game penalty assessed to the U.S. gave Canada a power play to start the third.
Jaques hit the post on that advantage, but that was as close as Canada came before the Americans took over again.
A series of defensive breakdowns hurt Canada throughout the night. Turnovers under pressure and missed assignments around the net gave the U.S. too many clean looks.
One of Canada’s brighter sequences came at 13:01 of the second, when Jaques buried a loose puck during a stretch of sustained pressure. Gosling later capitalized on a rebound for a power-play goal with just over a minute left in the period.
Canada actually outshot the U.S. 17–10 in the first, but the Americans were sharper in the key areas. Coyne Schofield and Compher scored 39 seconds apart to turn an early 1–0 Canadian lead into a U.S. advantage they never gave up. Canada’s opening goal came just 48 seconds in when Ella Shelton’s pass deflected off Fillier’s skate and in.
The fourth and final game of this year’s shortened Rivalry Series is set for Saturday in Edmonton. It will also be the last meeting between the two teams before February’s Olympic Games.
Canada is expected to name its 23-player roster in early January, and they’ll begin their gold-medal defence on February 4 against Finland in Milan.
