By Amy Tennery
BEIJING (Reuters) – A clash of ice hockey powerhouse rivals is set for Tuesday in Beijing, when the United States and Canada face off in a potential dress rehearsal for the women’s Olympic final.
The only two countries to win gold since the women’s event was introduced to the Olympic programme in 1998 are guaranteed a quarter-final spots but will not ease up in their final group-stage game.
“Canada and us, we share a special bond and that makes for great hockey and a beautiful rivalry,” said three-time Olympic medallist Hilary Knight, who has found the back of the net three times in the tournament.
The U.S. lost top player Brianna Decker to a tournament-ending injury in their opening game, a 5-2 win over Finland, but rallied to shut down the Russian Olympic Committee team on Saturday, relying on a mix of experience and youth to fill the void.
“Our team is right where we need to be at the right time,” said U.S. forward Amanda Kessel, who recorded her second goal of the tournament during the 8-0 rout of Switzerland on Sunday.
“We had a bunch of games cancelled against (Canada) the past few months, so we have been waiting for that day to get another chance to play them.”
They will meet a Canadian team out for revenge after the U.S. ended their run of four straight golds in Pyeongchang.
The world champions have been at the top of their game in Beijing, with the top three goal-scorers in the tournament after thrashing Switzerland and Finland 12-1 and 11-1 before downing the ROC team 6-1.
“We’ve been rolling and I think it’s amazing we’ve produced from every single line,” said two-time Olympic medallist Natalie Spooner, who has recorded two goals and eight assists at the tournament.
“We get on this roll and when that happens we are pretty unstoppable.”
Canada and the U.S. clash on Tuesday at Wukesong Sports Centre.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and additional reporting by Steve Keating in Beijing, editing by Ed Osmond)
