For the sixth time in seven tournaments, the gold medal women’s hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics will feature the USA vs Canada.
Ahead of tonight’s game (11:05pm ET on NBC), here is info on how to watch, a preview of what to expect, the history of the United States-Canada rivalry, and a recap of how both teams reached the final.
MORE FROM ON HER TURF: LIVE UPDATES FROM THE WOMEN’S HOCKEY GOLD MEDAL GAME
What time is the women’s hockey gold medal game?
The women’s hockey gold medal game at the 2022 Winter Olympics is tonight (Wednesday night) at 11:05pm ET (12:05pm on Thursday in Beijing).
How to watch the USA vs Canada Olympic hockey final:
The USA vs. Canada women’s hockey gold medal game will air live on NBC in the United States. You can also live stream the game via Peacock or NBCOlympics.com.
Once the game gets underway, On Her Turf will be providing live updates here.
What are hockey overtime rules in the Olympic gold medal game?
Not a bad question to be prepared to answer given that the last four USA vs. Canada finals at the Olympics and world championships went to overtime, including the U.S. team’s 2018 Olympic shootout victory.
That said, there will be no shootout during tonight’s Olympic gold medal game - if only because IIHF rules have changed in the last four years.
If the Olympic gold medal game is tied at the end of the third period, the teams will play a three-on-three (three players, one goalie) 20-minute “sudden victory” overtime period. If the score remains tied at the end of the first overtime period, another 20-minute “sudden victory” overtime period will follow using the same three-on-three format. So on and so forth, until one team scores.
How the U.S. and Canada women’s hockey teams reached the Olympic final:
While the U.S. women’s hockey team enters the Olympic gold medal game as the defending champion, Canada is the favorite for gold thanks to the team’s performance in Beijing.
The Canadians blazed their way through the Olympic tournament, going 4-0 in group play (including a 4-2 win against the United States), before defeating Sweden 11-0 in the quarterfinal round and Switzerland 10-3 in the semifinal round. In total, Canada has outscored its opponents in Beijing by a combined 54-8.
The U.S. had its first major on-ice challenge of the tournament just 10 minutes into the first game when U.S. alternate captain Brianna Decker suffered a tournament-ending injury. The U.S. went on to record a 3-1 record in group play. In addition to losing to Canada, the U.S. also recorded smaller margins of victory than the Canadians against nearly every group game opponent. To reach the gold medal game, the Americans defeated the Czech Republic in a surprisingly close 4-1 win, followed by a 4-1 victory over Finland.
MORE WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Savannah Harmon blazes unexpected path to Olympic debut
Leading into the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Canada won four of six pre-Olympic meetings in the abbreviated “My Why” tour, plus that 4-2 win in group play.
None of that matters in the gold medal game, though. History reflects that too:
Here's just the gold medal game (and the single prior game).
— Alex Azzi (@ByAlexAzzi) February 8, 2022
2018: 🇺🇸 (🇨🇦)
2014: 🇨🇦 (🇨🇦)
2010: 🇨🇦 (🇨🇦)
2002: 🇨🇦 (🇺🇸)
1998: 🇺🇸 (🇺🇸)
Only on 3 of 5 occasions has the pre-Olympic meeting "predicted" the #WinterOlympics gold medal winner.
#IceHockey | @usahockey | @HockeyCanada
Where does the USA vs Canada women’s hockey rivalry stand?
Since the first official women’s world championship in 1990 - and the inaugural Olympic tournament in 1998 - the United States and Canada have combined to win every women’s hockey title.
“It’s the most beautiful rivalry in sport,” said Hilary Knight. “It gets the best and the worst out of both of us at the same time.”
“I think it’s pretty unmatched,” said Canada’s Sarah Nurse. “Our history goes back to 1998 and that is some of the longest-running history of a rivalry.”
All but two finals (2006 Olympics, 2019 World Championships) came down the United States and Canada in the gold medal game. The Americans will enter Beijing as the defending Olympic champions, while Canada won the most recent world title last August.
Below is a summary of this storied rivalry. Olympic finals are in bold, while non-USA-vs-CAN finals are italicized.
USA vs Canada Rivalry History - Olympic and World Championship History (Finals only)
| Year | Event | Winner and Score |
| 1990 | World Championship | Canada, 5-2 |
| 1992 | World Championship | Canada, 8-0 |
| 1994 | World Championship | Canada, 6-3 |
| 1997 | World Championship | Canada, 4-3 (OT) |
| 1998 | Nagano Winter Olympics | USA, 3-1 |
| 1999 | World Championship | Canada, 3-1 |
| 2000 | World Championship | Canada, 3-2 (OT) |
| 2001 | World Championship | Canada, 3-2 |
| 2002 | Salt Lake Winter Olympics | Canada, 3-2 |
| 2004 | World Championship | Canada, 2-0 |
| 2005 | World Championship | USA, 1-0 (SO) |
| 2006 | Torino Winter Olympics | Canada defeated Sweden, 4-1 |
| 2007 | World Championship | Canada, 5-1 |
| 2008 | World Championship | USA, 4-3 |
| 2009 | World Championship | USA, 4-1 |
| 2010 | Vancouver Winter Olympics | Canada, 2-0 |
| 2011 | World Championship | USA, 3-2 (OT) |
| 2012 | World Championship | Canada, 5-4 (OT) |
| 2013 | World Championship | USA, 3-2 |
| 2014 | Sochi Winter Olympics | Canada, 3-2 (OT) |
| 2015 | World Championship | USA, 7-5 |
| 2016 | World Championship | USA, 1-0 (OT) |
| 2017 | World Championship | USA, 3-2 (OT) |
| 2018 | PyeongChang Winter Olympics | USA, 3-2 (SO) |
| 2019 | World Championship | United States defeated Finland, 2-1 (SO) |
| 2021 | World Championship | Canada, 3-2 (OT) |
Theirs is unlike any rivalry in sports history. 🇺🇸🇨🇦
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 16, 2022
USA vs. Canada. Women's hockey. Gold medal game.
Wednesday at 11 PM ET on @NBC & @peacockTV | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/yBAXeYOBXb
United States (USA) Women’s Hockey Team: 2022 Roster and History
- Head Coach: Joel Johnson; Assistant coaches: Courtney Kennedy, Brian Pothier, Steve Thompson
- Best Olympic finish: Gold (1998, 2018)
- Number of returning Olympians: 15 (including 13 from 2018)
- Number of rising/current college players: 5 (Cayla Barnes, Jesse Compher, Grace Zumwinkle, Abbey Murphy, Caroline Harvey). Harvey, the youngest member of the team, deferred her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin to train with Team USA in 2021-22
- Youngest player on the team: Caroline Harvey (age 19)
- Oldest player on the team: Hilary Knight (age 32)
| No. | Position | Player |
| 2 | D | Lee Stecklein |
| 3 | D | Cayla Barnes |
| 4 | D | Caroline Harvey |
| 5 | D | Megan Keller |
| 9 | D | Megan Bozek |
| 11 | F | Abby Roque |
| 12 | F | Kelly Pannek |
| 13 | F | Grace Zumwinkle |
| 14 | F | Brianna Decker (injured) |
| 15 | D | Savannah Harmon |
| 16 | F | Hayley Scamurra |
| 18 | F | Jesse Compher |
| 19 | D | Jincy Dunne |
| 20 | F | Hannah Brandt |
| 21 | F | Hilary Knight |
| 24 | F | Dani Cameranesi |
| 25 | F | Alex Carpenter |
| 26 | F | Kendall Coyne Schofield – Captain |
| 28 | F | Amanda Kessel |
| 29 | G | Nicole Hensley |
| 33 | G | Alex Cavallini (nee Rigsby) |
| 35 | G | Maddie Rooney |
| 37 | F | Abbey Murphy |
Canada (CAN) Women’s Hockey Team: 2022 Roster and Olympic History
- Head coach: Troy Ryan; Assistant coaches: Doug Derraugh, Kori Cheverie, Ali Domenico
- Best Olympic finish: Gold (2002, 2004, 2010, 2014)
- Number of returning Olympians: 13
- Current college players: 3 (Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, Ashton Bell)
- Youngest player: Sarah Fillier (age 21)
- Oldest player: Jocelyne Larocque (age 33)
| No. | Position | Player |
| 3 | D | Jocelyne Larocque |
| 6 | F | Rebecca Johnston |
| 7 | F | Laura Stacey |
| 10 | F | Sarah Fillier |
| 11 | F | Jillian Saulnier |
| 14 | D | Renata Fast |
| 15 | F | Mélodie Daoust |
| 17 | D | Ella Shelton |
| 19 | F | Brianne Jenner – A |
| 20 | F | Sarah Nurse |
| 21 | D | Ashton Bell |
| 23 | D | Erin Ambrose |
| 24 | F | Natalie Spooner |
| 26 | F | Emily Clark |
| 27 | F | Emma Maltais |
| 28 | D | Micah Zandee-Hart |
| 29 | F | Marie-Philip Poulin – Captain |
| 35 | G | Ann-Renée Desbiens |
| 38 | G | Emerance Maschmeyer |
| 40 | F | Blayre Turnbull – A |
| 42 | D | Claire Thompson |
| 47 | F | Jamie Lee Rattray |
| 50 | G | Kristen Campbell |
Follow Alex Azzi on Twitter @AlexAzziNBC
