MILAN (AP) — The United States and Canada will face off for Olympic gold for a seventh time since women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games in a border rivalry that never gets old.
And this time, the Americans are the favorites at the Milan Cortina Games.
The U.S. clinched its berth with a 5-0 win over Sweden in semifinal play on Monday. And the defending champion Canadians followed with Marie-Philip Poulin scoring twice to set the Olympic career goal record in a too-close-for-comfort 2-1 victory over Switzerland.
The outcomes set up the latest showdown between the sport’s global powers in the gold medal final on Thursday.
And it could very well be the last meeting between the two teams’ long-time stars: Poulin, nicknamed “Captain Clutch,” and U.S. captain Hilary Knight, who has already announced these will be her fifth and final Olympics.
