Team USA Hockey memories of Canada rivalry
Team USA Hockey players share memories of what they remember from their rivalry with Canada when they were both on and off the ice.
Sports Seriously
CLEVELAND — One of the greatest rivalries in sports is back.
The U.S. women’s hockey team faces off against Canada on Thursday night in the first of four Rivalry Series games over the next six weeks. The series serves as a tune-up for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, where the Americans and Canadians will be heavy favorites to play for the gold medal.
“(It’s a) spicy rivalry,” Hilary Knight said. “It’s a beautiful rivalry. We bring out the best in one another, because there’s just so much pride.”
The United States and Canada have long dominated women’s hockey – on and off the ice. They’ve combined to win every Olympics and world championships, and have played each other in all but two title games. (The U.S. beat Finland for the 2019 world title while Canada beat Sweden for gold at the 2006 Olympics.)
Canada is the reigning Olympic champion while the Americans have won two of the past three world championships, including an overtime thriller earlier this year.
Players from the two teams also were instrumental in the creation of the PWHL, as well as achieving equity within their federations.
“You put on your nation’s colors and all bets are off. It’s as competitive as it gets,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “I think it’s the greatest rivalry in all sports, but I think there’s no denying that the two countries have definitely come together to leave our mark in the sport and to leave the game better than when we found it. And it’s taken all of us to unite and come together.”
Here’s what to know about the U.S.-Canada game on Thursday night:
Canada’s Sarah Fillier opened the scoring on the power play, but Taylor Heise tied the game 16 seconds later. Shots are 11-9 USA.
The second period will start with one player from each team in the penalty box as Britta Curl-Salemme and Laura Stacey are called for cross-checking with 3.5 seconds left.
Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin is called for cross-checking. Canada kills it off.
The Americans didn’t let Canada’s lead last long.
Sarah Fillier got the Canadians on board first, scoring on a power play at 9:27 of the first period after Abbey Murphy was given a penalty for body checking. But the Canadians were barely done celebrating when Taylor Heise evened it up at 9:43, putting the puck above Eve Gascon’s reach. Laila Edwards gets an assist.
The goal was confirmed after a review, drawing a big cheer from the crowd at Rocket Arena.
And the first penalty of the night goes to Abbey Murphy. The American was given two minutes for body checking with 12:02 left in the first period.
The Rivalry Series game between the USA and Canada is underway. Goalie matchup is USA’s Airen Frankel vs. Canada’s Eve Gascon.
What time is US women’s hockey vs. Canada?
The game is at 7 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
How to watch US women’s hockey vs. Canada
The game will air on the NHL Network.
Laila Edwards is getting the start in her hometown.
Edwards, who grew up in the suburb of Cleveland Heights, and Megan Keller are the starting defenders for Thursday night’s Rivalry Series game against Canada. Hilary Knight, Tessa Janecke and Alex Carpenter are forwards on the first line.
The start was a bit of switch after Edwards played on the second line the last two days of training.
Edwards also did the ceremonial puck drop before the game started.
This Rivalry Series opener is a homecoming for Laila Edwards.
She grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a 20-minute drive from Rocket Arena, where Thursday night’s game will be played.
“I don’t even know. I just know it’s going to be a lot,” Edwards said when asked how many family and friends will be at the game.
Edwards plays at Wisconsin, so she’s gotten to play in her home state when the Badgers have played at Ohio State. But playing in her hometown, with the U.S. women, is going to be something special.
“I’m so excited to be playing back at home, at the highest level, against our biggest rivals. Doesn’t get any better,” Edwards said.
The U.S. team features a mix of veterans and new stars on its 30-player roster. Hilary Knight, arguably the greatest player of all time, has already said Milan Cortina will be her final Winter Games, while Kendall Coyne Schofield is trying to make her fourth Olympic team.
Among the younger players, Caroline Harvey, who made her Olympic debut in Beijing, has either won best Defenseman Honors or been on the All-Star Team at every world championships since 2022. Taylor Heise (2022) and Laila Edwards (2024) were both MVPs at the world championships.
Canada’s roster includes 13 players from its gold-medal team in Beijing, led by Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner and Sarah Fillier.
Why is US-Canada women’s hockey rivalry so heated?
Canada and the United States are the dominant teams in the women’s game, and no one else (yet) comes close.
The teams have played each other in the final at every Olympics and world championships but two, with Canada winning five of the seven Olympic gold medals and 13 of the 24 world titles. But the U.S. women have won two of the last three world championships, including an overtime thriller in Czechia in April.
Abbey Murphy, Harvey and Heise had goals in regulation for the Americans before Tessa Janecke scored the game-winner on a tap-in.
Canada leads the Americans in both all-time meetings (108-83-1) and in the Rivalry Series (14-13). But the United States has bragging rights for winning gold in the first Olympic women’s hockey tournament, beating Canada 3-1 at the Nagano Games in 1998.
Now in its sixth season, the Rivalry Series features the U.S. and Canadian women’s national teams. This year’s edition consists of four games, two in the United States and two in Canada.
After Thursday night’s game, the teams will play Saturday in Buffalo, New York. The players will return home for a month — PWHL training camps open next week — before the remaining two games, Dec. 10 and 13 in Edmonton, Alberta.
