Sports

U.S. Women’s Hockey Beats Canada to Win First Olympic Gold in 20 Years

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GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 22: Players of Team USA celebrate winning the gold medal after penalty-shot shootout following the Women's Ice Hockey Gold Medal game final between USA and Canada on day thirteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on February 22, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.  (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

It took a full game, a session of overtime, and penalty shots, but the US Women’s Hockey team finally bested their Canadian counterparts and won their first Olympic gold medal in 20 years. The last time they rallied to victory on Olympic ice was in 1998. And until last night, Canada had won every medal since.

Regulation game time ended with the two teams knotted at two goals apiece. Then a sudden death overtime came and went with neither squad scoring. Next up were penalty shots and serious nail-biting. US forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored what would be the winning goal with seriously mind-bending stick play. The Canadians had the final crack but were shut down by US goalie, 20-year-old Maddie Rooney.

After Rooney’s big save, the team poured onto the ice and the celebration began.

This win is extra sweet for the US team as they fell to the Canadians four years ago in the Sochi games. Check out our chat with the US’s power forward Hilary Knight where she touches on how brutal that loss was.