For the second straight year, the U.S. and Canada needed overtime to decide the winner of the IIHF Women’s World Championship gold-medal game.
This time, the Americans came out on top and earned gold with a 4-3 win over their northern rivals.
The chaotic, physical and hard-fought game ended when Tessa Janecke’s forecheck with under four minutes to play in overtime forced a rushed pass from behind the Canadian net that Taylor Heise picked off along the boards. Heise hit a beautiful tape-to-tape pass back to Janecke, who was waiting at the back door for a tap in.
“I strive to be the best 200-foot player that I can be,” Janecke said. “So going in there hard, trying to turn any puck over, get us a jump for our team is all I’m trying to do. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time this time. I saw the turnover at the blue line and just tried to get open on the back door and hope for the best.”
After Janecke missed a few chances throughout the game, captain Hilary Knight said the clutch goal showed Janecke’s tenacity and perseverance that she kept pushing and was ultimately rewarded with the gold-medal-winning goal.
“You just have to keep swinging,” Knight said. “Go to the paint hard, and you’re going to get rewarded. Our group is really fortunate that she was able to find that white ice.”
Canada outshot the Americans 10-7 in the extra frame and 47-30 overall, but the final play was emblematic of the perseverance and commitment Team USA had played with all tournament. After some early dangerous chances, the U.S. withstood a pushback from Canada and looked for an opportunity. Instead of waiting for it to happen naturally, Janecke created one.
The win added another gold medal to Knight’s collection, extending her record for the most gold medals in Women’s Worlds history to 10. Earlier in the tournament, Knight broke the tournament’s all-time assist record and added to that total in the gold-medal game. With seven assists overall this tournament, she now sits at 53 career assists. She is already the all-time goals and points leader at the tournament as well.
“Winning always feels sweet. Ten is a really big deal. One is a really big deal, so winning is huge and so important and does so many things for not only our immediate group but the growth of the sport in our country,” Knight said. “It’s such an honor to be able to represent this country on the world stage and to do it alongside these amazing women is incredible. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
The championship game seemed to move in fits and starts. The first period ended in a scoreless tie after neither team seemed able to settle in and find their rhythm. Then things broke wide open when the two teams combined for four goals in 2:16 of game time.
The Americans thought they were well on their way to the finish line when Caroline Harvey picked a spot top shelf and placed the puck as she moved across the slot to make it a 1-0 game about seven minutes into the second.
Just 29 seconds later, Kendall Coyne Schofield lobbed a puck towards the net from the neutral zone that appeared it would be an easy save and cover up. Instead, Abbey Murphy crashed hard towards the near post and tapped the loose pick in to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived, though. Danielle Serdachny and Jenn Gardiner scored within less than a minute of each other to tie the game at 2-2 before the second intermission.
“Every time we’re in one of these [games], I don’t want to say you should just throw out a scouting report, but it never comes to fruition,” said U.S. coach John Wroblewski. “Any way you think the game could go, it takes a turn and then takes another turn. It’s a roller coaster every single time. I don’t like roller coasters, but I like these games. They’re fun.”
While the U.S. was on a power play early in the third, goaltender Aerin Frankel left her crease to play a deflected puck near the right faceoff dot that might have led to a shorthanded opportunity for Canada. She and Laura Stacey collided hard resulting in Frankel being removed from the game due to an injury. She had made 27 saves up until that point.
Gwyneth Philips took over in net and showed incredible poise and resilience to come in cold in the third period of a tied gold-medal game.
“That was unbelievable,” Janecke said of Philips’ performance. “I can’t understand the mindset of goalies, but for her to be able to come in cold and be ready like whenever she was needed was awesome.”
Philips stopped 17 of the 18 shots she faced to help the Americans win gold.
While plenty can and will change in the 10 months between this win and the start of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Knight said there were things she thinks her teammates learned through this tournament that will help them be successful in the future.
“It’s being ready to win and that was what the tournament was about — accepting the opportunity to win,” she said. “It’s hard to close out games, especially against a Canadian squad that’s been here time and time again and proven themselves year after year. This is a good learning championship for us, and hopefully there are more good things to come.”
Frankel earned the directorate award as the best goaltender in the tournament, while Harvey was named the tournament’s top defender. Forward Kelly Pannek, who led the U.S. with four goals, was named to the Media All-Star Team.
The game was a fitting way to close out an exciting and historic Women’s World Championship as Czechia broke several attendance records, including the IIHF record for overall attendance at this tournament with 122,331 fans attending the 12-day tournament. The atmosphere at each game was boisterous and electric and the players fed off that energy.
Wroblewski made a point after the gold-medal game to praise Czechia for the experience he and his team had in České Budějovice.
“From the fans to the hospitality to the people, this was one of the coolest experiences,” he said. “I’ve been to a lot of these events as a player and coach, and this has a special place for me regardless of the outcome.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Source: usahockey.com