BEIJING, China – Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team is atop the podium at the Olympic Winter Games for the fifth time, edging the United States 3-2 in the gold medal game on Thursday (Wednesday night in Canada).
• Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) scored a pair of goals, including her third career Olympic gold medal-winning goal, and added an assist. Her three points moved her out of a tie with Meghan Agosta and into sole possession of fifth place in all-time Team Canada scoring (84-95—179). • Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) had a goal and an assist. She finished with 13 assists and 18 points, the most ever in a women’s Olympic tournament. • Claire Thompson (Toronto, Ont.) and Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) recorded an assist apiece. • Thompson finished with 13 points (2-11—13), the most ever by a defenceman in a women’s Olympic tournament, and was a tournament-leading +23. • Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) made 38 saves. She combined for 89 stops in the two wins over the United States in the tournament. • The United States outshot Canada 40-21. • Jenner was named Most Valuable Player. She was joined by Nurse, Poulin and Thompson on the Media All-Star Team.
Quotes: “I am so proud of the work everyone has put in. A lot of times people just see the finished product, they see the gold medal and everyone getting to celebrate. What they might not see is the ups and downs that happen in a season. Seeing [our athletes] celebrate gave me a chance to reflect on everything that has been thrown at them and what has happened this year. It has been impressive to watch, and all along I had the sense that good things were happening. All I wanted was for us to finish the way we wanted to and for our girls to get what they deserved. When it was all over, there was a bit of a sense of relief, but so much pride.” - Head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.) on taking in the celebration
“The work that has been put in by this group behind closed doors has been unbelievable. It is really hard to put into words, but this [gold medal] is really special. There has been a lot of hard work from the staff and players, and there is no better feeling than this. We were all united as one team, and it is easy to say that the players did the work, but to be honest our coaching staff and general manger have done everything they can to set us up for success. Everyone on our team was able to step up and buy in, and we were all rewarded today. I have so much pride in this team.” - Poulin on the work put in to earn a gold medal
“The Canada and United States rivalry is special, and they always force us to play our best game. We have a lot of great battles against them, and we all have a lot of respect for the players on [the United States]. Canada is a great hockey nation, and hopefully we have been able to inspire people back home and given Canadians a reason to celebrate.” - Jenner on the Canada-U.S. rivalry
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