UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — Danielle Serdachny converted a rebound in front 5:16 into overtime for a power-play goal and Canada beat the United States 6-5 on Sunday in a breathtaking women’s world hockey championship gold medal game.
Canada won its tournament-leading 13th gold medal and did so on U.S. soil in central New York, a year after the Americans won their 10th tournament outside of Toronto.
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice, Julia Gosling also scored, while Erin Ambrose and Emily Clark had shots bank into the net off U.S. defenseman Caroline Harvey. Ann-Renee Desbiens finished with 19 saves, including kicking out her left skate to stop Harvey’s wrap-around attempt 2:40 into the overtime.
Harvey and Laila Edwards had a goal and assist for the Americans who finished the tournament 6-1. Hilary Knight, Megan Keller and Alex Carpenter also scored for the U.S.
Serdachny’s goal came with 2 seconds left in a too-many-players penalty issued to the U.S. Erin Ambrose’s shot from the left circle was stopped by Aerin Frankel, before Serdachny swept the loose puck into the net.
Frankel, who set the single tournament record with four shutouts, finished with 24 saves.
The neighboring nations and women’s global powers showed once again why their rivalry is regarded as the fiercest and most intense in sports.
This marked the 10th time in 36 world championship meetings the teams played beyond regulation, and first in a gold-medal game since Poulin sealed a 3-2 OT victory in 2021. It also marked the highest-scoring game between the U.S. and Canada in any meeting since the Americans’ 7-5 win in the 2015 world championship gold-medal game.
The rivalry is so tight, both teams are 18-18 in world championship meetings, with Canada now holding a 104-103 edge in goals scored.
They went from a low-scoring, but fast-paced and riveting preliminary round meeting on Monday, which the Americans won 1-0 on Kirsten Simms’ overtime goal, to an offensive eruption.
The game was a breathtaking, back-and-forth affair in which neither team was capable of maintaining any momentum or holding more than a one-goal advantage.
Just when it appeared Canada had taken control with Poulin’s second goal, which she took four whacks at the puck from in close before tapping it in with 7:41 remaining, Harvey scored 2:39 later. Lacey Eden set up the goal from behind the net, where she fed Harvey for a one-timer from the left circle.
Canada’s Ella Shelton made a key stop with 3:21 left in regulation, when Edwards’ shot from the right of the net deflected off someone in front. The puck was dribbling toward the open left side, before Shelton reached out with her stick to deflect it just wide.
Canada opened the scoring 6:32 in when Ambrose’s shot from the right point. Edwards tied it less than two minutes later with a shot from the left circle, beating Desbiens high on the short side on a delayed penalty after Taylor Heise as tripped by Jocelyne Larocque at the blue line.
After Canada went up 2-1 on Gosling’s goal 3:08 into the second period, the Americans responded to take the lead with Keller and Carpenter scoring less than six minutes apart.
Then it was the Canadians’ turn to tie it, with Poulin driving up the left wing, faking a pass into the middle and beating Frankel with a rising shot that went in off the crossbar. The goal was just the Canadian captain’s first of the tournament, as she was coming off an injury that led her to miss the final three PWHL games with Montreal before the league’s tournament break.
The game was played at a relentless pace despite both teams playing on little rest. Tournament organizers elected to have the championship game played at 5 p.m. EDT in a bid to attract more spectators to make the trip to central New York. As a result, the Americans had about 24 hours rest following their 5-0 semifinal win over Finland, while the Canadians had about 22 hours following their 4-0 win over the Czech Republic.
The gold-medal game was a standing-room-only sellout at the 4,000-plus seat venue, and made for an electric atmosphere with a large contingent of “USA! USA! USA” chanting fans.
Earlier in the day, Petra Nieminen scored the decisive shootout goal, and Finland defeated the Czech Republic 3-2 to win its 14th bronze medal — and first since 2021.
Sanni Ahola made 29 saves through overtime, and stopped four of five shootout attempts. She clinched the win by turning aside Denisa Krizova’s bid to beat her through the legs on the Czechs' fifth and final attempt. Viivi Vainikka and Michelle Karvinen scored in a game Finland never trailed.
After Karvinen and Czech Republic’s Klara Hymlarova traded goals through the first two shootout rounds, Nieminen scored in the third round by flipping a shot to beat Klara Peslarova inside the left post.
The Finns entered the tournament as the fourth seed, in knocking off the Czechs who had won bronze in each of the past two championships.
Peslarova stopped 47 shots through overtime, while Denisa Krizova and Michaela Pejzlova scored for the Czechs.
Earlier in the day, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced next year’s world championships will be played at Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic, the first time the nation has hosted the tournament. Play will be begin on April 8 and run through April 20.
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AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey