The Canadian women’s ice hockey team beat Switzerland 10-3 on Monday in Beijing to secure their place in the gold-medal game on Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET against the United States, which defeated Finland 4-1 in the other semifinal.
Canada won its place in the gold-medal round after a 10-3 win over Switzerland, while the U.S. team beat Finland with a 4-1 win. Finland and Switzerland will play for bronze on Wednesday. The Swiss edged the Finns, 3-2, in a contest on Feb. 7.
The matchup between the U.S. and Canada was inevitable – After all, the teams have dueled for gold at every Games but one since 1998, when women’s hockey became an Olympic sport. And this meeting is sure to be exciting.
The only time they’ve not met in the championship game came at the 2006 Turin Games when the United States lost to Sweden in the semifinals.
According to ESPN, the U.S. and Canada have faced each other in six of the seven Olympic women’s hockey finals. Canada has won gold four times. Canadian player Sarah Nurse said she was looking forward to renewing the rivalry one more time.
“Obviously, playing the U.S., it’s always an exciting game, always an exciting rivalry,” said Nurse, who had four assists against Switzerland. “Our biggest focus is we get to play another game at the Olympics. We came here to play seven games. We wanted the last one to be the gold-medal game.”
Brianne Jenner, who tied an Olympic record with her ninth goal of the tournament against Switzerland, said she’s not worried about any past games against the U.S., reports CBC Canada.
“I think we know that history, but we’re going to give ourselves a blank slate. We looked at it as an opportunity to go out there and claim a gold rather than looking at the history books and what has happened,” she said.
Unlike the high-scoring Canadians, the U.S. has struggled with finishing chances while also playing without top-line center Brianna Decker, who broke her leg in a tournament-opening 5-2 win over Finland.
