The Rivalry Series is an annual women’s hockey tournament between the United States and Canada. Since its inception in 2018-19, the event has expanded from three to seven games taking place between November and February.
The Canadians have come out on top in two of the three previous tournaments, including a reverse sweep in a seven-game series last season. But the Americans came into today with a chance to right the ship — finding themselves up 3 – 0 once again following a 3 – 1 win in Game 1, a 5 – 2 win in Game 2, and a 3 – 2 overtime win in Game 3.
Captain Hilary Knight led the United States with six points entering this contest, followed by Abbey Murphy and the first overall pick in the PWHL draft, Taylor Heise.
Canada, on the other hand, had no players with more than a single point in the tournament.
In the end, it was Canada coming out on top in Game 4 after third-period goals by Danielle Serdachny and Ella Shelton. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored the lone goal in the shootout to secure the win and complete the comeback.
Game 5 will be on February 7 at 8:00 PM ET. Viewers in the United States can watch it on NHL Network.
LINEUPS
PERIOD 1
18:30 – Cayla Barnes does a nice job playing the body on Laura Stacey, who stopped up on the zone entry. But Canada is able to regain possession and get a grade-A chance. Puck was loose in front of the open cage but Hilary Knight cleared it away.
16:45 – USA gets a solid chance as the puck escapes from Jamie Bourbonnais, who was attempting to corral it in her defensive zone. Hayley Scamurra tried to hit an open Megan Keller in the slot, but she stepped on the puck when receiving the pass.
15:40 – Abbey Murphy and Knight with a nice zone entry. Create a mini two-on-one down low but don’t register a shot on goal.
15:20 – Nicole Hensley may have just made the save of the series right there. Robs Emma Maltais twice on the doorstep.
14:05 – Kelly Pannek fails to clear after receiving a rim around the boards. Canada really pressuring the wingers during zone exits. Hensley has to make a save.
13:59 – Canada outshooting USA 7 – 1 heading into the first commercial break. Americans have had some chances but they haven’t resulted in shots.
13:15 – USA with a couple of decent shots off of some ferocious forechecking. Not a lot of time for puck carriers in this game.
12:15 – Another great forcheck, this time by Tessa Janecke. She takes the puck off of Sarah Nurse to get some additional zone time.
11:00 – Hannah Bilka didn’t quite get the red line before dumping the puck in. Looks like she had room to get there safely. That’s a defensive zone draw for a tired group.
10:40 – Savannah Harmon does a great job defending Stacey in a one-on-one situation. She takes the body instead of focusing on the puck. Defense is playing physical this game.
10:30 – Canada gets a couple of decent chances afterwards though. Kristen O’Neill almost had a tap-in but the puck hopped over her stick. US needs to do a better job of taking sticks and bodies in front.
9:00 – Hensley is looking really good in goal for the Americans. Could easily be 2 – 0 already if it wasn’t for her.
8:30 – Not sure if it’s just the microphones in the arena, but I’m hearing a lot of communication from the Americans — especially when moving through the neutral zone.
7:45 – Taylor Heise line with some decent pressure in the offensive zone following an errant exit pass by O’Neill. But Canada eventually picks the puck off along the boards to clear. Would like some extended zone time to shift the momentum.
6:40 – Knight with a great pass to Lacey Eden on that zone entry. Results in a shot on goal, but Canada recovers the rebound and exits. One and done.
5:50 – Abby Roque almost gets the United States on the board. Murphy pressures the Candian defenseman who had the puck in her feet. She gains possession and feeds it to the streaking center who tries to slide it fivehole — but Ann-Renée Desbiens shuts the door.
5:40 – Heise picks off an Ella Shelton pass in slot. She feeds it over to Janecke for a high-danger chance that’s stopped by Desbiens.
4:40 – US pins Canada in their own zone — nearly 90 seconds of pressure there. Things are shifting.
3:30 – Keller with a great opportunity in the slot but elects to pass. Puck doesn’t find tape and the chance is gone.
2:40 – Murphy and Knight with a couple of hard shots on goal. Shots have narrowed to 11 – 9 in favor of Canada.
1:35 – Canada beats out an icing then forces one of their own off a hasty board pass from Rory Guilday. Don’t think she realized how much time she had.
1:10 – Canada almost goes on their first power play of the day after a potential Puck Over Glass™ penalty. Marie-Philip Poulin wants it but the refs say it went over the bench. No call.
0:20 – Barnes with another physical defensive play, taking out O’Neill in a one-on-one situation. Love to see that.
End of First:
USA 0 | 0 Canada
Team USA started to take over play in the final six minutes. Shots are still 12 – 9 for Canada, but the play feels much more even now.
PERIOD 2
18:55 – Knight with a nice feed to Caroline Harvey who was cutting in the slot. Pass didn’t fully connect but you like that look early in the period.
17:50 – Another nice pass attempt by Team USA, this team Bilka to Harmon. Harmon would have been in alone in front but couldn’t catch it on her backhand.
17:00 – Keller did a fantastic job killing Canada’s offensive zone pressure. Picks off a pass behind the net then reverses it away from pressure.
16:40 – Americans get the first power play of the game. Gosling gets called for roughing on Scamurra.
16:30 – I think Heise is the player I’m always hearing on the ice. Great communication from the first overal pick in the PWHL draft. She’s looked great on this power play as well.
14:40 – Canada kills penalty. US had some decent looks but nothing high danger.
14:10 – Eden with a great cross-ice feed to Harmon but it’s on her backhand. If Harmon shoots with the other hand, that probably results in a quality scoring chance.
12:10 – Canada gets a power play of their own after Heise gets called for interference. They’re 0 – 11 this tournament.
11:40 USA GOAL (1 – 0) – A shorthanded tally by the Americans to open the scoring. Pannek carries the puck up the wing with Poulin defending. A streaking Keller beats Jocelyne Larocque up the ice to receive the pass and get a tap-in goal.
10:10 – Canada fails to equalize on the power play after giving up the shorthanded goal. Both units continue to struggle for them.
9:10 – Some chippiness after the whistle in front of the USA net. More of that to come if Canda doesn’t tie it soon?
8:55 – Harvey turns puck over after Keller tried to move the play up the strong side. Probably would have an easier time going the other direction — but that’s easy for me to say when I’m not on the ice.
8:40 – Canada to the power play once again. This time, the Puck Over Glass™ penalty does get called. Keller to the box.
7:30 – Poulin tries to pick the corner from the faceoff dot. She misses, but Canada has had much more pressure this time around.
6:30 – Nurse gets tripped up in the neutral zone. USA may have gotten away with one there.
6:10 – USA almost goes up by two. Murphy does a great job keeping the puck in after getting on the ice. Sets up a tic-tac-toe play that Knight nearly converts on.
4:45 – Canada with a grade-A chance in the slot but Keller sacrifices her body to make the block.
3:30 – Murphy and Knight have been dominant in the second half of this period. They’ve been giving Canada problems every time they jump over the boards.
1:45 – Guilday has a great opportunity with space in the high slot. Doesn’t look like she got all of the shot.
0:20 – Alex Carpenter has been quiet through two periods. She came into today with three points in three games.
End of Second:
USA 1 | 0 Canada
The Americans continued their momentum from the end of the first period. Will they close it out and clinch the series win?
PERIOD 3
19:00 – Canada coming out strong. Nearly a full minute of zone time to open the period.
18:15 – Murphy almost hit Bilka on a cross-crease pass that would have put the United States up by two. Not sure how that puck got through the defense.
17:15 – Scamurra almost hits Eden with a cross-crease pass of her own. Really trying to make Desbiens move.
16:15 – The Americans have taken over the play since the opening shift. Lots of zone pressure with great puck movement. Canada playing with fire, it seems.
15:55 – And as soon as I say that, Canada almost ties it. US fails to perform a clean zone exit and the Canadians jump into action. Gosling had a high-danger chance but didn’t get all of the shot — puck stuck under Hensley’s pad.
15:15 USA GOAL (2 – 0) – There’s Carpenter! And what an absolute beauty of a play. Barnes feeds her a net-front saucer pass off the rush. Carpenter tips it out of mid-air with one hand on her stick to beat Desbiens. Impressive stuff.
13:50 – Another skirmish in front of the USA net after Stacey collides with Hensley. She almost split the defense to get in alone. I think Barnes is going to the box for cross-checking her after the play.
13:50 – Back from commercial. Yes, Canada is on the power play. Third time’s the charm?
13:20 – Stacey draws another penalty — Canada will have about 1:30 of 5 on 3 time. USA coach believes its a dive.
12:20 – Time out by the US. This is a big kill.
12:10 – Scamurra with a huge block in the slot. That may have been going in.
11:20 – Americans kill off both penalties. We’re back to evens after a couple of chances by Canada.
9:55 CANADA GOAL (2 – 1) – A long pass off the boards by Renata Fast confuses the American defense. Hensley decides to come out to play it, but it’s too late. Danielle Serdachny beats her to it and slips the puck into the open net.
9:40 – Canada back to the box after Ashton Bell gets two minutes for boarding. Will the US respond?
8:10 – Another near tic-tac-toe play involving Murphy and Knight. Can’t get the shot away, but these two are showing off their chemistry.
7:20 CANADA GOAL (2 – 2) – Shelton in the slot. American’s lose track of their defensive assignments after a broken play causes a bit of chaos. Lost puck by Fast followed by a whiff by O’Neill. But Shelton buries it.
5:30 – Canada is going back on the power play for the fifth time today. They’re 0 – 4 and have given up a shorthanded goal. If there was ever a time for it to convert, it would be now.
3:40 – Puck was laying in front of an open American net with Hensley out of position. Scamurra there to knock it away.
3:30 – US kills the penalty, but the momentum has shifted.
3:05 – Canada is piling on the pressure right now. They’ve had more than a few opportunities to take the lead in the last couple of minutes.
0:20 – Canada ices the puck with a tired group out there. Can the Americans pull off the last-minute win or are we going to overtime?
0:00 – Big block snuffs out any chance of a regulation win for the United States. We’re going to OT.
End of Third:
USA 2 | 2 Canada
These two teams never disappoint.
OVERTIME
Five minutes of three-on-three hockey.
4:40 – Canada wins draw and gets a quick chance.
3:55 – Murphy plays the body on Poulin in the corner — no initial call. Poulin then retaliates with a shove when she gets up. Both are going to the box now. Not sure how Murphy goes there considering the hand wasn’t up after the hit? We stay playing 3 on 3.
3:55 – Heise, Janecke, and Keller on the ice for the Americans. The get about 40 seconds of solid pressure in the offensive zone before Canada regains possession.
End of Overtime:
USA 2 | 2 Canada
No one wants this to end in a shootout. This has been fun.
SHOOTOUT
Five rounds of shooters.
–
USA | Knight – Fake shot, then goes fivehole. Stopped.
CAN | Serdachny – Backhand to forehand move. Miss.
–
USA | Simms – Comes in wide. Backhand to forehand. Stopped.
CAN | Maltais – Approaches slowly then goes fivehole. Stopped.
–
USA | Heise – Tries blocker across the body. Stopped.
CAN | Poulin – Forehand to backhand across the crease. Scores.
–
USA | Carpenter – Loses the puck on the approach. No shot.
CAN | Cherkowski – Goes backhand to fivehole. Stopped.
–
USA | Murphy – Attempts a quick release to the fivehole. Stopped.
Canada wins 3 – 2 (SO)
USA leads series 3 – 1
Pucks Over Glass 
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