2014 Olympics: Women's Hockey Final, USA vs Canada
Let's do this.
Today's Game
Women's Final
USA vs Canada, 12:00 noon (NBC)
Tomorrow's Games
Men's Semifinal Games
Finland vs Sweden, 7:00 AM (NBCSN)
Canada vs United States, 12:00 noon (NBCSN)
Going into this afternoon's game the Canadian women have won nineteen consecutive games in Olympic play and it is going to be up to the United States women to put a stop to that. The Canadians and Americans met earlier this tournament in the preliminary rounds and the US fell short by a single goal. The Canadians are going for their fourth straight gold medal this afternoon and the Americans are looking to win their second ever gold (their first came in 1998, the Olympics before Canada's impressive streak began).
The American women are underdogs going into today's game and they know it but they also know they were, at one point, leading Canada 1-0 when the two clubs met earlier in the tournament. Today's game means just as much for USA as it does for Canada because the Americans have a chip on their shoulder. Team USA's captain, Meghan Duggan, had this to say about today's game:
"But it's always revenge against them... I'm still working on revenge from Vancouver," Duggan said. "You come up short in that one, it doesn't feel good any time you lose a game, so we're obviously looking for revenge."
Can you imagine a more significant and intense game in Women's hockey? I know I can't. Normally I'm very fond of our polite friends and neighbors to the north, I even have a handful of Canadian friends, but for the next two days I'll be booing the native sons and daughters of Canada unmercifully. Please use this as your open thread for today's gold medal game and for all general hockey talk. We're less than a week away from returning to NHL action boys and girls!
Mike's Player to Watch: Amanda Kessel
The Kessel siblings have had a pretty amazing 2014 Winter Games thus far and both of them have a date with some Canadians standing in the way of them and a medal, and in Amanda's case that medal is gold. Kessel, who is just 22 years old, is leading her team in scoring with 6 points in the tournament and just like the rest of her team has something to prove against the Canadians. Kessel was held pointless by Team Canada in the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the tournament and will be looking to use her speed and sweet hands around the net to help her team be the ones smiling and laughing after sixty minutes of hockey today.
Go get ‘em ladies.
Let's go USA!!! Let's do this.
