In women’s hockey, there is no bigger prize than Olympic gold medals.
On Thursday, the U.S. was fewer than five minutes from achieving the ultimate prize, before Canada stormed back with two late goals to send the contest to sudden death overtime, where Marie-Philip Poulin scored the goal that brought gold medals to Canada.
For Canada, it’s their fourth consecutive gold medals in women’s Olympic hockey.
VIDEO: Watch the shot that hit the post
For the U.S., it is their second straight silver medals.
The Canadians pulled within 2-1 when Brianne Jenner scored with less than four minutes to go in regulation. A short time later, they opted to pull goalie Shannon Szabados from the net – only to have an American shot fired from deep within their zone toward the open goal.
The puck hit the left post. Canada was still alive.
And with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, they pulled even as Poulin – who scored both goals in the Canadians’ 2-0 gold medal win over the U.S. four years ago in Vancouver – lit the lamp.
The game then went to overtime, which featured a series of penalties that left the Canadians with an eventual 5-on-3 advantage. At the 8:10 mark, Poulin struck again and zipped a quick shot into the net.
The heroine of Vancouver became the heroine of Sochi.
MORE: Watch the FULL REPLAY of today’s U.S.-Canada women’s hockey gold medal game
WOMEN’S HOCKEY – GOLD MEDAL GAME
CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2 (OT)
Scoring Summary
Second Period
USA – Meghan Duggan (Jocelyne Lamoureux), 11:57 – USA 1-0
Third Period
USA – Alex Carpenter (Hilary Knight, Kelli Stack), 2:01 – USA 2-0
CAN – Brianne Jenner (Meaghan Mikkelson, Jocelyne Larocque), 16:34 – USA 2-1
CAN – Marie-Philip Poulin (Rebecca Johnston, Haley Irwin), 19:05 – TIE 2-2
Overtime
CAN – Poulin (Laura Fortino), 8:10 – CAN 3-2
Goaltenders
CAN – Shannon Szabados, 27 saves on 29 shots
USA – Jessie Vetter, 28 saves on 31 shots