Desbiens' 51 saves, Poulin scoring on penalty shot lifts Canada to 4-2 win over U.S.

BEIJING — Ann-Renée Desbiens was of two minds about her workload in Canada’s 4-2 win over the United States in Olympic women’s hockey Tuesday.

The Canadian goalie’s 51 saves were more than the combined shots she faced in her first two starts in Beijing.

“I love it, but not really,” said the 27-year-old from La Malbaie, Que. “I enjoy it personally, but from a team perspective, that’s not the kind of game you want to have too often. 

“It just showed that we can improve on things, get better during the medal round. Selfishly, it’s fun, but I’d rather not.”

Outshot 53-27, Canada nevertheless held off the defending champions to finish the preliminary round atop Pool A at 4-0.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored on Canada’s first penalty shot in Olympic women’s hockey history. Brianne Jenner’s two goals and Jamie Lee Rattray’s one rounded out the scoring.

Dani Cameranesi and Alex Carpenter countered for the U.S. (3-1). Maddie Rooney made 23-of-27 saves in the loss.

Canada will face the third seed and the United States the second seed from Pool B in the quarterfinals. 

The quarterfinal matchups Feb. 11-12 will be A1-B3, A2-B2, A3-B1, A4-A5.

Russia, Finland and Switzerland jockeyed for seedings Tuesday in Pool A as did Japan, Czech Republic, China, Sweden and Denmark in Pool B.

The semifinals Feb. 14 are followed by the bronze-medal game Feb. 16 and the gold-medal game Feb. 17.

Canada and the U.S. had outscored their opposition a combined 47-5 in their three games to start the tournament. 

The North American rivals demand a hard, fast, edgy brand of hockey from each other when they meet. 

Tuesday’s clash produced that for 591 spectators, which included Canada’s curling teams, in Wukesong Sports Centre.

Poulin provided Canada’s insurance goal scoring on a penalty shot late in the second period. After American defender Cayla Barnes slashed the Canadian captain on a breakaway, Poulin beat Rooney bottom corner.

“You have one of the top players in the world going in on a penalty shot, so you get pretty excited,” Desbiens said. “She comes up clutch for us day in and day out and when it matters, that’s when she’s at her best. We saw that again today.”

The U.S. hemmed Canada in its own zone for most of the first 20 minutes, yet the latter emerged with a 1-0 lead on Jenner’s power-play goal.

Canadian head coach Troy Ryan didn’t love his team giving up 53 shots — and more when including numerous blocked shots.

“I think we gave up that many shots because of our puck management,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily their pressure. It was us forcing plays to the middle of the ice. 

“I think if we do a better job managing the puck, you probably knock off 15 to 20 of those shots.”

The U.S. briefly led 2-1 in the second period during a six-minute span when the two sides combined for four goals. Canada killed of two American power plays in the third period to preserve the victory.

“Shots on net don’t win hockey games, goals do,” U.S. coach Joel Johnson said. “We’ve got to find a way to use our offensive zone time to generate higher quality chances.

“Defensively, we can’t give up four. Very, very rarely do you give up four goals and win a hockey game.”

The officiating crew was minus a referee for most of the second period when Canada’s Cianna Lieffers needed attention for a bloody cut on her face. She returned to finish out the game.

Canada won its second game in as many days after beating Russia 6-1 while wearing KN95 masks under their cages Monday. All players and on-ice officials wore masks to start that game delayed an hour because of Russia’s late COVID-19 test results.

Forward Emily Clark, who was pulled from warmup Monday because of an inconclusive test, was back in Canada’s lineup Tuesday.

“Coming back, a quick turnaround after yesterday’s game, no problem getting up this morning because we know it was going to be a good one, we knew it was going to be a big one,” forward Sarah Nurse said. “Any time we get to play the U.S., it’s always a lot of fun. 

“A lot of pride on the line and definitely a lot of hostility out there.”

The U.S. lost forward Brianna Decker to a tournament-ending knee injury in a 5-2 win over the Finns last week.

The Canadians were still without Melodie Daoust, who hasn’t played since her upper-body injury in a 12-1 win over the Swiss in their opener.

Canadian women won four straight Olympic gold medals before the Americans edged them 3-2 in a shootout in the 2018 final in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Canada and the U.S have met in all Olympic finals except one in 2006, when the Swedes pulled off a semifinal upset of the Americans. 

Ryan wasn’t sure Tuesday’s win gives Canada the upper hand should the two countries clash again for gold in Beijing.

“History says it doesn’t necessarily mean a lot,” the coach said. “We also like the fact that we didn’t play our best game and still found a way to win, so I think that bodes well for our confidence.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2022.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press