CAN 3, USA 2: Canadian women dominate third period in victory over USA
Down a goal headed into the third period, the Canadian Olympic women's ice hockey team flipped the script and completely dominated their American counterparts in the final 20 minutes.
Led by their top line of Hayley Wickenheiser, Brianne Jenner and Meghan Agosta, the Canadian women's team outshot the American's 12-0 and scored three times on American netminder Jessie Vetter in the period. The American side didn't record their first shot on goal in the period until Vetter had gone to the bench for an extra attacker.
It was the 18th win in a row for the Canadian women's ice hockey team at the Olympics, a streak which stretches all the way back to the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.
The win wasn't without some controversy, however, as Finnish referee Anna Eskola appeared to miss several opportunities to call Canada for a "Too Many Players on the Ice" infraction in the third period. Eskola also seemed to have blown her whistle before Canada's second goal, scored by Hayley Wickenheiser, trickled across the goal line.
Vetter, certainly, believed that the whistle had been blown:
U.S. goalie Jessie Vetter on the disputed goal vs. Canada. "I thought there was a whistle."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 12, 2014
Controversy aside, it was a riveting matchup between the two top nations in the sport. The Canadian and American women's ice hockey teams hadn't competed in a preliminary round matchup since the 1998 Olympics. Thanks to the new format of the women's ice hockey tournament, hockey fans were treated to an exceptionally exciting contest.
Which is great for the sport, and great for the women's ice hockey event. Now if these two teams meet again in the gold medal game, there will be significantly more hype than there would've been otherwise.