On a late Wednesday night in North America, or a regular Thursday morning in Beijing, the greatest rivalry in sports was renewed. There are some voices out there that want women’s hockey removed from the Olympics due to lack of parity, or other ridiculous reasons. This game and this rivalry, however, go to show why women’s hockey belongs in the Olympics. Heck, it shows why women’s hockey belongs everywhere.
A History Lesson
Women’s Hockey is a very recent edition to the Olympics in the grand scheme of things. The women’s version of the game was added to the international competition in 1998. Conversely, the men’s game has been a staple of the Winter Olympics since 1924. For 74 years, there was only the men’s game. Personally, I believe there is one moment that truly put women’s hockey into the forefront, and brought the game to the Olympics. That moment? Manon Rhéaume showing the world that women can play the game at a competitive level. Not only did she play in a preseason game for the Lightning in 1992, she actually played in regular season games in the IHL, ECHL, PSHL, and WCHL. She is still the only woman to ever play a game in the NHL, 30 years after her historic moment.
Women’s Hockey in the Olympics
First things first, the greatest rivalry in sports was born in 1998 when Hockey Canada and Team USA faced off for the first time to try and win Gold. Canada and the US have only NOT faced each other for a medal one time. Honestly, talking about 2006 is not something Team USA fans like to do. That year was the only year in the history of women’s hockey at the Olympics in which the US had to fight for Bronze. The first time these two countries fought for Gold. The result isn’t something Canadian fans like to think about, they took home Silver that year.
After that first matchup, Hockey Canada brought home Gold four years in a row. FOUR! In 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014, they truly reigned supreme. In 2018, Team USA got their revenge. After a nail biting overtime and an extended shootout, finally a Gold Medal returned to the Team USA Women’s Hockey team. It was edge of your seat the entire game, which is truthfully how I love my hockey games to be. Engaging, entertaining, and sometimes infuriating, those are the games we love to watch.
The 2022 Winter Olympics
Throughout the 2022 tournament, there was fantastic play across the board for every team participating. I mean, I could talk all day about how amazing Team Japan performed. Seriously, did you watch those games? I mean, impeccable. The growth of the game we love is truly alive and well across the world. That is what we need to see, new countries qualifying and performing at such phenomenal levels. Hockey Canada and Team USA have been the talk of the tournament though, the only loss seen between the two top contenders was when they faced each other. Team USA did not come out with the win.
The Gold Medal Game
For Team USA fans, this game did not start well. At the end of the first period, Hockey Canada was up 2-0. Even with the shots on goal being even at 11 a piece, the first period felt very lopsided. Even after a called-back goal due to a player being offsides, Hockey Canada was relentless. Team USA did have some early opportunities, but were denied by the goal post. If you follow Olympic Women’s Hockey, you know how much the goal post just hates Team USA.
The second period showed a better start for Team USA. Five minutes into the second period, the only shots on goal for the period belonged to Team USA. The shots taken were good changes, but Desbiens remained perfect for her team. At 9:55 of the second period, Canada made it 3-0. The game truly started to get chippy at this point. There was a little more incidental contact, and it seemed like the on-ice chirps escalated as well. At 16:39, Hilary Knight netted a shorthanded goal to make the score 3-1. That goal definitely brought some life back to Team USA.
The third period began much like the second. There was a lot of offensive pressure, especially from Team USA. The pesky goal post continued its destain for Team USA with a ringer that could be heard across the world. The US outshot Canada 31-20 at the midway point of the third period. Desbiens is just a puzzle that is difficult for any team to solve. With 12.5 seconds remaining in the game, Amanda Kessel would net a power play goal and make the game 3-2. In the end, there just wasn’t enough time left to tie it up.
The greatest rivalry is still alive and well in 2022. The victor of this tournament’s matchup is Hockey Canada.
Congrats to you Team Canada. You played a fantastic tournament.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more on women’s sports. Beth Bolger is available on Twitter and you can follow her there.
