BRAMPTON — Focus.
That was the message Hilary Knight had for her teammates as the minutes wound down Sunday night against Canada, her side up by two — and then three — with a gold medal on the line.
Calm down.
Knight has been in enough cross-border battles to understand how quickly a tide can turn, how fast and hard a momentum swing can take a lead and break it down.
“I was just telling everyone, calm down. Calm down. Focus on the little things. Pay attention to the little things. It’s a game of inches… focus on the task at hand, their single shift, (then) they went out there and owned it, and won it. That’s what we needed to do.”
And that’s exactly what Team USA did. Driven by Knight’s hat trick, two of which came as part of a flurry of four unanswered third-period goals, the Americans locked down their lead to defeat Canada 6-3 and steal back world championship gold on enemy ice.
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The mood once the final buzzer sounded? Well, it wasn’t so calm anymore.
Knight knows what it feels like to win gold — this is her ninth time winning the world championship title, after all. She knows the joy of leaping off the bench, gloves and stick and helmet launched en route to swarm your goalie in celebration.
“It’s hard to beat Canada. And it’s hard to beat Canada in Canada. We definitely felt like an underdog, we always feel like an underdog, people are always rooting against us. But somehow we persevere and it feels sweeter that way,” she said.
But this year brought a first for No. 21: Her first world champion gold wearing a sweater adorned with the C.
“It’s obviously a huge honour to lead this team, but the day-to-day business hasn’t changed. We have so many leaders in this room, people who have been here for years and years, just so much experience,” said Knight, who leads a national team that welcomed an influx of youth this year — 12 players are currently on NCAA rosters, signalling a new wave of elite talent to complement the veteran stars. “Just being able to be supported and step up and sort of be the voice when we need it was exceptional.”
“That’s why I don’t have my voice right now,” she added with a smile. “I’m not used to having this raspy voice all the time.”
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Hopefully her voice holds on long enough for a phone call to Kendall Coyne Schofield, from whom Knight took over as captain for this tournament. Coyne Schofield sat out this year’s event while pregnant with her first child.
“I talk to her like everyday. She’s definitely missed. We’re happy that we could get this win and we can’t wait for her to come back and join us,” Knight said.
There was no shortage of leadership on Team Canada this year, the veteran squad entering Sunday’s gold-medal matchup already battle-tested and braced for another, eying a worlds three-peat. Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin, so often seen with a gold medal draped around her neck, wears silver this time.
“You never want to lose, obviously, on home soil. Very disappointing. It’s tough to put into words right now. It stings, but that’s part of it and it’s how we’re gonna respond after that,” she said.
Poulin opened the scoring in the first period, her gold-medal clutch gene clearly activated, and had a helper on one of Brianne Jenner’s two that followed. Five minutes into the third period of a 3-2 game led by Canada, American defender Caroline Harvey evened the score. A tied-up score in the third period is nothing new for this rivalry, but this game quickly diverted from the usual script when a pair of Canada penalties ultimately handed the USA the lead.
“We were in a game we expected to be in. We just don’t like the way it ended,” said Team Canada coach Troy Ryan. “I thought we made some great adjustments after the first period, it was quite sloppy. And our second period was great and I thought things were heading in the right direction in the third until we took a couple penalties.”
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With five minutes to go in the third, Jenner was called for tripping. Soon after, Claire Thompson was issued a delay of game penalty, prompting a 5-on-3 on which the USA quickly capitalized.
Knight’s two power-play markers came just 27 seconds apart. Her second goal of the night, which served as the game-winner, was career point No. 100 with the national team. No. 101 solidified the win, with Cayla Barnes’ empty-netter with two minutes remaining sealing the deal. Abbey Murphy also scored for Team USA, getting her side on the board late in the first, while goaltender Aerin Frankel held down the fort in net with a sensational 27-save performance.
“They have a great team. We have a great team. We know it was going to be intense, it was back and forth,” said Poulin. “Obviously power-play and specialty teams are very important and sadly we had a 3-on-5 at the end there and kind of lost some momentum there. But that’s hockey, and that’s part of it.”
The mood in the locker room was quiet, reflective. Ryan’s message to his team was clear.
“I just told them how proud I’ve been of them, how resilient they’ve been and also just how proud they should be,” he said. “When I started this kind of journey with them a couple years ago, one of our main focuses was on being good teammates and I think this team exudes what it means to be a good teammate. So I think they’ll learn from this experience and just grow as a group.”
Soon enough, it’ll be time for another round, another meeting of hockey’s best teams, another hunt for gold. But first, rest.
“We’re gonna take some time and reflect on it,” said Poulin. “I’m very proud of this group, it’s a special group in that dressing room and this doesn’t define us. It’s how we’re gonna respond after this and how we’re gonna go to work to be able to get back on top.”
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