Jason La Rose
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. UNITED STATES (NOV. 8)
It’s right back to action for Canada’s National Women's Team, which looks to bounce back from an opening-game loss when the Rivalry Series continues Saturday night in Buffalo.
Last Meeting & Last Game
The latest edition of the Rivalry Series got started Thursday night in Cleveland. Sarah Fillier got the Canadians going early, converting on a power play midway through the first period, but the would be all the offence Canada could muster. Ève Gascon was solid in her National Women’s Team debut, making 22 saves, but the Canadians finished on the wrong end of a 4-1 final score.
What to Watch
That Fillier was the first Canadian on the scoresheet in the 2025-26 season shouldn’t have come as a surprise to many – for a couple of reasons. First, the goal was the 12th for the Georgetown, Ontario, product in 32 career games against the Americans (0.38 GPG). That’s the second-best goals-per-game among any current player (minimum 10 GP), behind only the incomparable Marie-Philip Poulin (41 G in 101 GP). Second, Fillier just scores goals, period. She is up to 43 in her Team Canada career, already the 16th-most in National Women’s Team history, and she has an outside chance to crack the top 10 with a big season. Fillier also potted 13 goals in her PWHL Rookie of the Year campaign last season, good for fourth in the league.
On the southern side of the 49th parallel, Taylor Heise continues to show why she was the first-ever No. 1 pick in the PWHL. The Minnesota native was in on all four goals in the series opener, scoring once and setting up all three of Abbey Murphy’s goals. Heise has cooled off in recent international seasons but is still among the most dangerous Americans – she has recorded 42 points in four appearances at the IIHF Women’s World Championship and has a trophy case that includes MVP honours from Women’s Worlds and U18 Women’s Worlds, and back-to-back Walter Cup championships with the Minnesota Frost, earning playoff MVP honours in 2024.
Coming to Edmonton!
The Rivalry Series returns to Canada next month with a pair of games in Edmonton on Dec. 10 and Dec. 13 – the final games before Team Canada defends its Olympic gold medal in Milan.
Two-game packages and single-game tickets are on sale at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.
A Look Back
Despite its proximity to the border, and its international hockey history, this is just the second time Canada and the U.S. have faced off in Buffalo, and the first since Feb. 2, 2000 – a 4-1 victory for the Americans.
Overall, though, no state has hosted Canada vs. U.S. more than New York; this will be the 12th meeting in the Empire State (including a pair of Women’s Worlds gold medal games in 1994 and 2024), with Canada holding a narrow 6-4-1 (W-L-T) advantage.
All-time record: Canada leads 108-84-1 (25-22 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 534 United States goals: 475