Team USA trailed Canada heading into the third period of the gold medal game at the women's worlds. Then, Hilary Knight and Caroline Harvey took over.
Team USA entered the 2023 IIHF women’s World Championship with confidence. Confidence in their veteran leaders, such as new captain Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel, and belief in their burgeoning young core, including Caroline Harvey and Taylor Heise.
“It’s been going their way, so I think they have the confidence," said Team USA veteran Amanda Kessel following the semifinal. "But I have the confidence in our team, and I know that we have it in the room to win.”
That confidence proved correct as the combined play of USA’s veterans and new generation propelled them to a gold medal, beating Canada 6-3 in a come-from-behind game.
Entering the third period, USA trailed Canada 3-2. Canada had goals from Marie-Philip Poulin and a pair from Brianne Jenner, while the USA had goals from Abbey Murphy and Hilary Knight.
Heading into that third period, Knight had one message for her team.
“Calm down, focus on the little things…focus on the task at hand,” she said.
When the third period opened, it was all Team USA.
Caroline Harvey knotted the game at 3-3, walking the blueline before opening a shooting lane for herself and cleanly beating Canadian netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens glove side, a spot USA targeted time and again in the win.
Harvey was named the tournament’s top defender, leading the event in scoring with 14 points in seven games. After she tied the game, Hilary Knight took over.
Heading to a power play on what appeared to be a mistaken call for tripping against Brianne Jenner, defender Claire Thompson flipped the puck over the glass, putting Canada down by two players.
Standing in the high slot, Knight blasted a shot glove side, beating Desbiens to put USA ahead 4-3. Only 27 seconds later, Knight tipped home her third of the evening, making it 5-3 and silencing the Canadian crowd.
Following Knight’s pair, Canada pulled Desbiens for the extra attacker. Less than a minute after Knight’s hat trick, Cayla Barnes slid the puck into the open net to notch the final goal of the 6-3 golden win.
“It’s hard to beat Canada – it’s hard to beat Canada in Canada,” said Knight. “They’re always rooting against us. Somehow, we persevered, and it feels sweeter that way.”
In the crowd, a small pocket of American fans throughout the game started a “U-S-A” chant, which was immediately overwhelmed by the Canadian crowd responding with a louder “Can-a-da” cheer. Following Knight’s hat trick, Canadian fans threw hats on the ice, not to celebrate Knight but to delay the restart of the game. Each time they did, an American player skated to collect the hats and threw them back into the crowd.
In the end, the Canadian crowd was stunned and silent, and in the arena concourse following the game, Team USA fans and players were left cheering “U-S-A” without interruption.
While the eyes focused on Hilary Knight, the captain turned the focus on her team.
“It takes a whole village to have one person be successful on the ice,” she said.
The gold medal win was the first time since 2015 that a Canada and USA World Championship final was decided by more than a single goal. This time, it was 20-year-old blueliner Caroline Harvey scoring a goal and an assist and 23-year-old netminder Aerin Frankel, playing in her first-ever gold medal game, making 24 saves in the win.
Next year’s World Championship will be hosted in the United States. At an IIHF press conference prior to the gold medal game, the location of the event was confirmed as Utica, N.Y.
The gold medal was USA’s 22nd consecutive medal at the World Championship and 10th gold.