UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — Coach John Wroblewski's attempt to inject youth and speed into the U.S. women's hockey lineup proved too much for rival Canada in Monday's final world championship qualifying match. It was done.
Kirsten Sims, one of four college rookies making their tournament debut for the United States, scored a goal 3:38 into overtime against Canada, clinching a 1-0 victory and the Group A title. , and will be heading into the playoffs.
Aerin Frankel stopped 26 shots for her second shutout win of the tournament, and the defending world champions finished Group A play with a 4-0 record. The goal was Sims' first at a world championship and followed her second year at Wisconsin, where the 19-year-old was the leading scorer in women's college hockey.
Canada (3-1) took second place in Group A, with Anne-Renee Desbiens stopping 29 shots.
The Americans will advance to Thursday's quarterfinals to face the third-place team in Group B, which will be decided after Tuesday's qualifying round. Canada will face Sweden in the quarterfinals. This was a rematch of last year's World Championship quarterfinal, which Canada won 3-2 in overtime.
In the other qualifying rounds, Germany clinched the Group B title with a 1-0 victory over Sweden thanks to Franziska Feldmeyer's goal with 11:54 left in regulation time and Sandra Abstreiter's 32 saves. Jeni Hiiljkoski scored one goal and provided three assists as Finland defeated Switzerland 5-2 (0-3) to move to 1-3 in Group A.
The Americans outscored the experienced Canadians 7-0 in overtime, 3-on-3, and the game was all about speed.
“We have some speedy players and it's great for them to generate momentum when we get into 3-on-3 situations,” USA captain Hilary Knight said. “It's a fast game. This is the fastest U.S. vs. Canada game. And it's a lot of fun to play from a player's perspective.”
The winner was decided when Sims scored to make it a 3-1 break after Canada's Brian Jenner fell and spat the puck in the US zone. Caroline Harvey led a rush to the left and centered on Sims, who was able to take the shot despite having her stick pulled from behind by Canada's Jocelyn Larocque.
Larocque's backcheck changed the puck's trajectory and Desbiens was tricked into hitting it low between his skates.
“Obviously, it's a surreal moment,” said Sims, who has played on the so-called “all-rookie line” that includes teammates Lyla Edwards from Wisconsin and Joy Dunn from Ohio State.
“I feel like the whole third period we really pushed and played downhill and just stuck to our game,” she added. “So when we won in overtime, I feel like we knew it was over.”
The United States, which defeated Canada 6-3 in last year's world championship gold medal match, bounced back from losing four straight to Canada in the best-of-seven Rivalry Series held this winter.
“It's disappointing. We never want to lose, especially against the United States,” said Marie-Philippe Poulin, captain of the Canadian national team. “They were quick, quick and physical. That's what we expected. They have a great team.”
And it remains very likely that the cross-border rivals will meet again in Sunday's tournament final.
The United States, which won 10 gold medals to Canada's 12, improved to 18 wins and 17 losses against Canada at the World Championships, with both teams currently tied for 98 points against each other.
Frankel was sharp in front of the defense, limiting most of Canada's shots from the outside. Among her best stops were Emma Maltais' hard shot from the left circle with six minutes left in regulation and Natalie Spooner's on a 2-on-1 break with 3:30 left in the second period. I once dodged a shot.
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AP Women's Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
