Hilary Knight says women's hockey isn't just about USA and Canada

At Nagano 1998, the United States defeated Canada to become the first Olympic champions in women's ice hockey.

It sparked one of the fiercest and most captivating rivalries in sport with the teams meeting again in the Beijing 2022 final: the latest episode of this box-office series.

Just listening to the latest generation of U.S. and Canadian hockey stars talk about it gives you an idea of just how much this gold medal means to them.

"It's wonderful hockey, it's the most beautiful rivalry in sport," said USA's star forward Hilary Knight.

"It gets the best and the worst out of both of us at the same time. It's a wonderful game."

Canada won four out of six of the two nations' pre-Olympic tour encounters, two in overtime, and beat USA 4-2 in their preliminary round clash in Beijing.

Knight says the USA have some "unfinished business" in what should be another thrilling final.

But how does she feel about the gap between the two North American giants and the rest of the world in women's hockey?

Canada have run up the score repeatedly in Beijing with USA never seriously troubled other than in the teams' preliminary round meeting.

Switzerland, who could win a bronze medal, went down 12-1 and 10-3 to Canada with USA beating them 8-0.

But Knight believes the gap is closing between the big two and the rest.

She said, "Everyone’s good at this tournament. It’s wonderful because I think it’s a testament to the growth of women’s hockey.

"I think that’s why we saw the World Championships have more teams in the tournament, and it’s wonderful to see the girls on the world stage."

Denmark made their debut in Beijing, as did hosts China who managed to surprise Japan in their first preliminary group encounter.

All good news for the game,