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The Canadians came into the gold-medal game as underdogs.
On one side, there was a powerhouse American team that had outscored its opponents, 31-1, with plenty of contributions from a group of talented young players who are already stars in this game.
That dominance included a decisive 5-0 victory against the Canadians in the preliminary round that was never particularly close.
On the other side, there was a veteran Canadian team that had lost seven in a row to the Americans, a number they heard repeated often throughout this tournament.
“The whole year, people had doubt,” Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin said. “People wondered. People said we’re too old.”
But in a one-game showdown for Olympic gold, the Canadians didn’t play like underdogs.
They pushed, fought and shot-blocked their way to a 1-0 lead that held until the final minutes of the third period, when American captain Hilary Knight, playing in the last Olympic game of her career, tied things.
They kept pushing in the extra frame, before a goal from U.S. defender Megan Keller scored to end it.
Megan Keller scored 4:07 into overtime, as the United States defeated Canada 2-1 to win the Olympic women’s hockey gold medal.
“It wasn’t about anything other than doing whatever it takes,” Canadian forward Laura Stacey said. “It hurt. It wasn’t pretty. We knew it wasn’t going to be. Unfortunately, we fell just inches short.”
The Canadians had plenty of dangerous chances through run-and-gun, three-on-three overtime. None of them went in.
“We wanted to play relentless, in their face hockey and that’s what we did,” Poulin said after the game, her face streaked with tears underneath a red ball cap with a Canadian flag. “We came up short but I’m truly, truly proud of this group.”
Throughout the tournament, Poulin and several others on the team wrote a mantra on their stick tape: Her first. Your last. Our best.
For some on this team, it will be their last taste of playing on the biggest stage for their country. For seven players, it was their first.
Megan Keller’s golden goal in overtime gave the United States a 2-1 win over Canada in the Olympic women’s hockey final.
That’s what this team focused on as the noise outside their dressing room grew louder — as Poulin went down for two games with a knee injury that continued to pain her throughout the tournament, as the Americans clobbered them in the preliminary round, and as people scrutinized coaching decisions and roster choices.
Even Poulin didn’t tell her teammates the extent of her physical pain. She didn’t want to be a distraction.
“Every single person in that locker room wanted it,” Stacey said. “They wanted it for their country, wanted it for this team, but more importantly, wanted it for the person next to them.”
O’Neill a ‘relentless, hard worker’
The Canadian team played arguably its best game against the U.S. this year. They kept it scoreless through the first 20 minutes, controlling most of the play.
Kristin O’Neill opened the scoring shorthanded off a rush that started with the speed of Stacey.
O’Neill made this team after just missing the cut in 2022. She was added to the taxi squad, which meant she travelled to China and isolated away from the team, but never got to play.
This time, O’Neill made the team as a gritty, fourth-line forward, relied on to kill penalties and win key faceoff draws. But she also made it for her heart.
“She’s been doing amazing and she’s a relentless, hard worker,” Poulin said about O’Neill. “All the details, she does it so well. For her to score that goal, we’re not even surprised. It was a matter of time.”
The Canadians struggled in the second to get the puck out of their zone at times. Canadian goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens came up big when she needed to do so, making 31 saves.
The Canadians went into this game with a different strategy. They weren’t likely to outscore this team in big numbers. They just had to grind it out and stay disciplined.
And grind it out they did until, with an extra attacker and Knight plunked in front of Desbiens, the American captain got her puck on the stick to deflect it in.
Keller ended it less than five minutes into overtime.
“This is the best hockey team that women’s hockey has ever seen,” American forward Kelly Pannek said about her team. “It’s amazing sitting on the bench and watching players that are just historic in their own way and the way that everyone came together.”
The Canadians went scoreless over three power play opportunities, each one that could have made the difference.
The end of an era
After the buzzer sounded, Poulin hung her head on the bench. Then, she hugged each teammate, individually.
That included Jocelyne Larcoque, Brianne Jenner and Natalie Spooner, who she’s been competing alongside for more than a decade. They’ve won gold together, and they’ve lost together.
As he walked down the tunnel, Canadian head coach Troy Ryan told Poulin how this team changed the trajectory of his career. Poulin’s leadership was a big part of that.
Words like trust and love get thrown around a lot in sports. On this team, they mean something, Ryan said.
“I think this group truly does care and love and trust each other,” he said. “You just see that.”
This team will look different in four years. Some have played their last game in a Canadian jersey. Others will play their way on to this team through the PWHL. Change is coming and new blood will enter the program.
Asked whether she’d be back at another Olympics, Poulin said she planned to stay in the present.
She planned to soak up the last moments from a team that will never be together again, holding a medal that isn’t the colour they wanted.
“It would have been a hell of a story,” Poulin said. “But that’s part of it.”
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