U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Comes Up Short In Another Tough OT Battle With Canada

Kendall Coyne Schofield competes during the gold-medal game at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship on Aug. 31, 2021 in Calgary, Canada.

“It was awesome,” Harmon said. “I think our forwards did a really good job of having sustained pressure and I was able to just creep in a little bit, I got a nice pass from the zone and shot my shot and right away I thought it went in and celebrated, and then when the play kept going got a little nervous but then I looked over and saw the ref so was relieved a little bit.”

The U.S. was able to kill off a late power play that straddled the end of regulation and overtime, with Hensley making several big stops. But she wasn’t able to stop Poulin, who was one-on-one with her choice of spots to pick out. She rifled hers top shelf to the delight of the few maple leaf-clad fans among the near-capacity crowd. 

In addition to getting the start for the first time since the Nov. 21 game on tour, Hensley received a special honor before the game. In January she’ll be inducted into nearby Lindenwood University’s Sports Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Lions program as a player and coach. Team USA’s No. 29 racked up more saves at Lindenwood than any goalie in women’s college hockey history.

“This was incredible, this was one of the most exciting and also most nervous I’ve been for a game in a long time. There were so many signs and so many 29 jerseys in the crowd I really wasn’t expecting that. But St. Louis has always had a special place in my heart and to get to play in front of all these little girls that I’ve coached over the years was pretty special.”

The St. Louis leg of the My Why Tour is now complete as the U.S. will head to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the final American game of the tour. They’ll be looking for their first home win, as, oddly, the road team has won every game of the tour so far. The “State of Hockey” is where the Olympic team roster will be unveiled, during the second intermission of the NHL’s Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis. 

With the Olympics drawing ever closer, games against top competition like Canada are going to prove valuable as the U.S. looks to defend its gold medal. Three of the six games on tour so far have gone to overtime, and no other game was decided by more than two goals. The U.S. and Canada are so evenly matched that it is the little things coaches will be watching.

“I think it helps us identify what we need to pay attention to,” said Johnson. “We were talking here postgame, a lot of frustration that we couldn’t find a way to score. But at the same time, when you lose you have to look at the tape and you look yourself in the mirror as a coach and say what could I have done differently? … It’s one of those things that I’ll never say, ‘Well this’ll help us because we lost.’ Losing doesn't help. You can learn though, from every game you play.”

Coming off two difficult overtime losses, the players can see some positives in the process and believe the payoff is coming.

“I think we're heading in the right direction,” Hensley said. “I think throughout residency there’s been a ton of improvement and our group’s gotten closer and closer on and off the ice as it’s gone along and I think that’s all you can ask for. We feel like we’ve had a lot of small victories as we’re going forward but we want to start showing it on the scoreboard.”