USA Faces Unexpected Challenge as They Coast Toward Gold Medal Against Canada—Can They Hold Their Lead?

Coming into the games, Canada was 1, 2, or 1A, depending on how you want to look at the team for the ranks. We knew they were going to be one of the best teams in the Women’s Hockey field. They showed it repeatedly in their games. However, they don’t look quite as invincible as they have in some of the other competitions we’ve seen. They started the Olympics with some issues of a stomach bug or virus going around the team. Then they kicked off competition with an easy win over Switzerland, winning 4-0. Then they had to take on Czechia, winning 5-1. They looked to be coasting through those first two games. Then they had to face America. It wasn’t just that they had to face their biggest challenger; they had to face them without Marie-Philip Poulin, widely regarded as the best Women’s Hockey player in the world. They lost to the US 5-0. They rebounded in the next two games, taking down Finland and Germany with relative ease. They did struggle a bit to figure out Switzerland in their second matchup against them, but Poulin returned and netted both goals for them in the win.