Shannon Coulter
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. UNITED STATES (FEB. 19)
It all comes down to this. Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team faces off against its long-time rival, the United States, for the gold medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Last Game
It was a historic game for Marie-Philip Poulin as Canada edged Switzerland 2-1 in the semifinals. Poulin scored both goals—seven minutes apart in the second period—and became the all-time goal leader in women’s Olympic hockey with 20. Daryl Watts set up both goals, and Ella Shelton and Sophie Jaques also chipped in with assists..
The United States earned its spot in the gold medal game with a 5-0 shutout of Sweden in its semifinal. Five different players scored for the Americans—Cayla Barnes, Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hayley Scamurra. Murphy added a helper for a two-point effort and Hannah Bilka recorded two assists. Aerin Frankel made 23 saves for the shutout.
Last Meeting
The only blemish on Canada’s record in Milan came against the U.S. in the preliminary round, a 5-0 defeat last Tuesday. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 22 saves to become the third goaltender to record 1,000 in her Team Canada career, joining Shannon Szabados (1,428) and Kim St-Pierre (1,366). Laura Stacey led the offence with four shots on goal.
What to Watch
The chemistry on Canada’s new-look top line has led to success in Milan. The combination of Sarah Fillier, Marie-Philip Poulin and Daryl Watts, which was put together starting in the quarterfinals when Poulin returned from a two-game injury absence, has produced four goals and nine points in two games together, and Watts is second in tournament scoring—and the top-scoring forward—going into the gold medal game with two goals and eight points. And, of course, you can never count Poulin out of a gold medal game. The captain is the only player in men’s or women’s hockey history to have scored in four Olympic gold medal games. She has seven goals in gold medal games and has scored the game-winning goal in three of those four games (2010, 2014 and 2022).
It has been a memorable tournament for Caroline Harvey. The American defender tops the scoring race in Milanwith two goals, nine points and an impressive plus-14 through six games. The odds-on favourite to win the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best women’s hockey player in the NCAA and be the No. 1 pick in the PWHL Draft, Harvey has 17 goals and 54 points with the University of Wisconsin this season. Another defender who is generating offence and looking like a PWHL top pick is Laila Edwards. She’s tied for sixth in scoring with two goals and seven points. This will also be the final Olympic game for Hilary Knight, who announced in May that Milan would be her final Olympic Winter Games. No matter the result, she will become the first U.S. hockey player to win five Olympic medals.
A Look Back
It’s the 12th Olympic meeting between the cross-border rivals, with the Canadians owning a 7-4 advantage.
We all remember the last time Canada and the United States faced each other in an Olympic gold medal game back in 2022. Sarah Nurse redirected a shot from Claire Thompson to open the scoring for Canada, and Poulin scored twice to increase Canada’s lead. Desbiens shut the door from there, making 38 saves to lead Canada to a 3-2 win and its fifth gold medal.
All-time record: Canada leads 7-4 (1-1 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 27 United States goals: 29