Villanova wasn’t the only team to win a tournament on a game-winning shot Monday, as the United States women’s hockey team won its third straight IIHF World Championship in dramatic fashion.
Canada and the U.S. were tied 0-0 in overtime in Kamloops, British Columbia when Alex Carpenter won a mad scramble in front of the Canadian goal and pushed the puck in to secure the gold medal. Carpenter told the CBC that the goal quieted the Canadian crowd, as she happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“It got pretty quiet, so I wasn’t really sure if it went in,” Carpenter said. “I’ve had some chances throughout the tournament and I guess this was just the right place at the right time. I would have given up any other goal at any other point for this one.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDtwMAVgj9c
Boston Pride forward Hilary Knight was named the tournament’s top forward and MVP after leading the tourney with seven goals.
Unlike the men’s side, U.S. has long dominated Canada in women’s hockey, winning six of the last seven IIHF World Championships — two of which were on Canadian soil. U.S. women’s hockey is a well-oiled machine, with many top NWHL and college hockey players and has continually won in international competitions (outside of the Olympics), a trend which should continue in upcoming years.
Many consider hockey to be Canada’s game, but the U.S. women’s team, with victories like this one, continue to prove they’re a dominant force to be reckoned with.
