Canada looks for revenge against United States in Olympic final

For the fourth Olympics in a row, it comes down to Canada and the United States for gold in women’s hockey.

Canada punched its ticket to the gold-medal game after a 10-3 win over Switzerland, while the United States defeated Finland 4-1 to advance. This will be the second meeting of the tournament between the two teams, with Canada taking the first game in the preliminary round 4-2.

Canada has had a dominant tournament so far in Beijing, scoring 54 goals to break the previous record of 49, also set by Canada, in Vancouver 2010.

The top six scorers in the tournament are all Canadian, with Sarah Nurse leading the way with 16 points. Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner both have 14, followed by Brianne Jenner (13), Claire Thompson (12) and Sarah Fillier (11).

Jenner’s nine goals match the record for most goals in a single Olympics in women’s hockey. Thompson has also made history this tournament as her 12 points breaks the previous record of nine points by a defender in one Olympics.

The Americans lost key veteran Brianna Decker in the first game due to injury, but Hilary Knight stepped up with five goals and nine points in her fourth Olympics, scoring in both the quarters and semis.

The Canadians struggled with the relentless forecheck and physicality of the Americans early in the preliminary round matchup. Jenner gave Canada a 1-0 lead in the first before the U.S. pressure paid off, with Dani Cameranesi and Alex Carpenter getting on the board in the second period to make it 2-1.

After Carpenter’s go-ahead goal, the key players who helped Canada edge the United States for gold at the worlds in August took control of this game.

Canada’s response came 26 seconds later as Jenner stepped up again to tie the game, while