Lee Stecklein and Megan Keller provided the offense, while Aerin Frankel shut the door for USA as they topped Canada 2-1. USA outshot Canada 28-19, and with their win, secured top spot in Group A.
“We played like a team today,” said Team USA head coach John Wroblewski. “It’s games like this that you have to grind out and from puck drop to final whistle we did just that.”
USA has relied on their high flying offense to date, but today played stingy defence. Canada on the other hand, didn’t capitalize on their opportunities, and turned pucks over throughout the gam.
“My only point to the team after the game was a little bit of sloppy execution,” said Team Canada head coach Troy Ryan. “Instead of taking an extra fraction of a second to make a play, I thought we were pushing a lot of pucks. We have to manage that better and bear down on some of the opportunities they give you. You’re not going to get many, so you have to make the most of the ones you get. On a positive note, I felt we broke out the puck really well. The U.S. does get pucks deep, but I was quite comfortable with the way we managed the puck on the defensive side.”
The opening goal came on a high wrist shot from the point by Stecklein that alluded Ann-Renee Desbiens in Canada’s crease. USA’s second goal came on a rush by Megan Keller who went 1-on-5 against Canada’s entire line before beating Desbiens from the high slot.
Laura Stacey was sprung alone in the thidr to bring Canada within one, but it wasn’t enough.
While neither team wants to be on the losing end of their match ups, the back and forth between Canada and USA is expected. It’s one of the best rivalries in sport, and the players know it.
“Every game we play against them is a little bit different, but at the same time, it’s the same,” said Team Canada defender Joceylne Larocque. “It’s fast, it’s physical, it’s fun and I had a great time out there. There are things we definitely need to adjust, but that’s what is great about this tournament and this format. You get to play all these top teams in the preliminary-round to build your game. This team wants what’s best for each other and the country, and I have no doubt that we’ll make the adjustments we need to. We’re going to rest and recover tonight and be ready to play Czechia tomorrow. We know we can’t take them lightly and we know it’s going to be a great game.”
Canada closes out their round robin against host Czechia, while USA finishes theirs against Switzerland.
The win secured top spot for USA in Group A.
