US minus Decker comes up short in Olympic final vs. Canada

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Losing Brianna Decker to injury in the women’s hockey tournament opener turned out to be too much to overcome for the United States in the gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. could have used Decker’s scoring touch and more in a 3-2 loss to Canada. Decker broke her left leg and tore multiple tendons in her ankle when she was tripped from behind in the first game of the preliminary round two weeks ago. The U.S. tried but could not replace everything Decker brought to the table. Canada’s high-end talent and depth proved too much for the Americans to handle.