US faces Canada again in women’s hockey for Olympic gold

By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer

BEIJING (AP) — One of sports’ fiercest and longest-running grudge-matches will resume Thursday when the American and Canadian women’s hockey teams faceoff at the Beijing Games with an Olympic gold medal on the line. The game will mark the sixth time out of seven Olympics the cross-border rivals will play for the title. Canada has won four times. The United States is the defending champion after a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory in 2018 in Pyeongchang. The test for the U.S. is finding a way to contain Canada’s dynamic offense. The Canadians are 6-0 and have outscored opponents by a margin of 54-8. Canada defeated the U.S. 4-2 in the preliminary round.