The Olympic women’s ice hockey feud between the United States and Canada has become the best rivalry in the sport because their games have intensity, animosity and an unparalleled quality of play. What they haven’t had is a sense of inevitability: that one side would triumph over the other. That is until Canada took the ice in the Beijing Olympics’ gold-medal game on Thursday and defeated the U.S. 3-2.
The gap between the teams had never been wider, from the sportsbooks to public perception.
And that’s something that should really give USA Hockey pause.
To recap the rivalry: This was the sixth meeting between the U.S. and Canada for Olympic women’s ice hockey gold since the event was added in 1998. The Americans won twice (1998, 2018), while Canada has won gold five times — four times against the U.S. and in 2006 against Sweden, when the U.S. settled for bronze.
The Americans ended a…
