1998 – UNITED STATES 3, CANADA 1
The United States used a hot goaltender and timely offense to beat Canada
3-1 and claim the first gold medal in women’s hockey.
Canada went into the match-up as the four-time defending world champion,
having defeated the U.S. in every international gold medal game to that
point. However, the Americans were gaining ground and the two teams had
split their previous 14 meetings.
“We knew we were in tough,” says Cassie Campbell-Pascall, then a defenceman
on the team. “The U.S. had really improved over the year and a half leading
up the Games. I think there was a lot of pressure leading up to that game,
and we didn’t have the experience to look to as no one had played in an
Olympics before.”
After a scoreless first, the Americans got on the board less than three
minutes into the second, capitalizing with only five seconds left on the
power play off the stick of Gretchen Ulion.
The 8,100 fans in attendance saw the Americans go up 2-0 halfway through
the third on another man-advantage; this time it was Shelley Looney doing
the scoring, beating Canadian netminder Manon Rhéaume.
Danielle Goyette finally put Canada on the board with her
tournament-leading eighth goal at the 16-minute mark of the third, but the
U.S. would score into an empty net in the dying seconds to secure victory
and the inaugural Olympic gold.
The loss would motivate the team moving forward. Ten players who had stood
on the blue-line as the American national anthem played in 1998 would be
back at the 2002 Games, when Canada would defeat a U.S. team that had spent
the previous four years centralized. “We had no business winning [in
2002],” says Campbell-Pascall, “but I truly believe that the memory of 1998
motivated us to win that last game.”
Campbell-Pascall wishes the 1998 team could’ve won gold for the players who
were instrumental in pioneering the women’s game. The silver medal, though,
provided plenty for personal reflection.
“I learned a lot about myself as a player, a person and a leader from that
1998 experience. I simply had to be better.”
OTHER GAMES
1928 – Dave Trottier scored five goals and Jim Sullivan had the shutout as
Canada blanked Sweden 11-0 to open its tournament. As two-time defending
gold medallists, the Canadians were allowed to bypass the preliminary and
automatically earned a place in the medal round.
1952 – Billy Gibson had a hat trick and Canada took a commanding 6-2 lead
after the first period en route to a 13-3 win over Finland. The Canadians
surrendered only seven shots on net, the fewest ever for the Olympic team.
1968 – With the gold medal on the line, Canada fell to the Soviet Union 5-0
to close out the round-robin tournament, leaving the Canadians with the
bronze.
1984 – Mario Gosselin made 34 saves in the Canadian goal, but Canada
managed just 15 shots – its fewest in an Olympic game – in a 4-0 loss to
the Soviet Union. It also marked the first time Canada had ever been shut
out in back-to-back Olympic games.
1994 – Dwayne Norris scored twice and Petr Nedved once – on the first and
only penalty shot in Canadian Olympic history – but Canada conceded a late
power-play goal and settled for a 3-3 tie with the United States.
2002 – Canada scored three times in the second period and held off a
high-flying German team in the third to grab a 3-2 win. Joe Sakic, Paul
Kariya and Adam Foote scored for Canada; Martin Brodeur stopped 18 shots to
pick up his first Olympic victory.
2006 – Canada scored four times on the power play to defeat Finland 6-0 in
a semifinal showdown and move on to the gold medal game. Gillian Apps led
the way with a goal and three assists, while Hayley Wickenheiser added a
goal and two helpers.
2010 – Meghan Agosta and Hayley Wickenheiser had five points each to lead
Canada to a 13-1 victory over Sweden. Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps had two
goals apiece, in a game in which 15 Canadian players had at least one
point.
2014 – Natalie Spooner scored twice and Mélodie Daoust added one – all in a
span of just over four minutes of the first period – to send Canada to a
3-1 semifinal win over Switzerland and book a spot in the gold medal game
for the fifth time in as many Olympics.