Knight hits hat-trick as USA stun rivals Canada for world ice hockey crown

Hilary Knight scored three times, including the go-ahead goal with 3:10 left in regulation, and the Americans won their 10th women’s world hockey championships gold medal and first in four years with a 6-3 win over cross-border rival Canada on Sunday night.

Caroline Harvey had a goal and assist, and Abbey Murphy and Cayla Barnes, with an empty-net goal, also scored. The Americans scored four unanswered goals in the third period. Aerin Frankel stopped 24 shots. Knight upped her tournament-record career goal total to 61, while also extending her record point total to 101.

The Americans overcame three one-goal deficits before Knight scored twice in the span of 27 seconds to capitalize on a two-player advantage with the game tied at 3.

With Brianne Jenner off for tripping and Claire Thompson penalized 1:11 later for delay of game, Knight snapped in a shot from the mid-slot to beat Ann-Renee Desbiens high on the glove side. Knight made it 5-3 by deflecting in Harvey’s shot from the left point.

Jenner scored twice and added an assist, and Marie-Philip Poulin had a goal and assist for the Canada, who were seeking their 13th tournament title. Desbiens stopped 16 shots in losing her first tournament game in 17 career starts.

The Americans punctuated their victory by loudly, proudly and happily singing the US national anthem. They won gold on Canadian soil, with the tournament being played in front of a largely pro-Canadian crowd in suburban Toronto.

The US bounced back from losing the past two world championships to Canada, as well as the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

The Americans last won gold in 2019, when they defeated host nation Finland 2-1 in a shootout, and after the Finns knocked out Canada in the