CLEVELAND — One of the greatest rivalries in sports is back.
The U.S. women’s hockey team downed Canada 4-1 on Thursday night in the first of four Rivalry Series games over the next six weeks.
Abbey Murphy had a hat trick as the USA rallied after giving up the first goal. Taylor Heise had tied the game after Sarah Fillier scored, then Heise set up Murphy’s three goals.
The series serves as a tune-up for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, where the Americans and Canadians will be heavy favorites to play for the gold medal.
‘(It’s a) spicy rivalry,’ Hilary Knight said. ‘It’s a beautiful rivalry. We bring out the best in one another, because there’s just so much pride.’
The United States and Canada have long dominated women’s hockey – on and off the ice. They’ve combined to win every Olympics and world championships, and have played each other in all but two title games. (The U.S. beat Finland for the 2019 world title while Canada beat Sweden for gold at the 2006 Olympics.)
Canada is the reigning Olympic champion while the Americans have won two of the past three world championships, including an overtime thriller earlier this year.
Players from the two teams also were instrumental in the creation of the PWHL, as well as achieving equity within their federations.
‘You put on your nation’s colors and all bets are off. It’s as competitive as it gets,’ Kendall Coyne Schofield said. ‘I think it’s the greatest rivalry in all sports, but I think there’s no denying that the two countries have definitely come together to leave our mark in the sport and to leave the game better than when we found it. And it’s taken all of us to unite and come together.’
USA TODAY provided live updates from the U.S.-Canada game on Thursday night. Here are highlights from the opening game of the series:
USA vs Canada highlights
Final score: USA 4, Canada 1
Abbey Murphy leads the way with a hat trick as the USA wins the first game of the Rivalry Series. Game 2 will be Saturday, Nov. 8, in Buffalo.
Canada pulls goalie
Canada pulls Eve Gascon for an extra skater.
Canada power play
Joy Dunne is in the penalty box for tripping. Dunne was called for the penalty 15:20 into the third period.
Canada power play
Jesse Compher got whistled for delay of game on the faceoff.
Compher was given a two-minute penalty 8:56 into the final period. She was tapping her stick and reaching in before the puck dropped on the faceoff. It’s the fourth penalty of the night for the U.S. women.
USA power play
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it’s a penalty for Canada.
Caitlin Kraemer was given two minutes for roughing 5:34 into the third period. It’s Canada’s seventh penalty of the night, and the U.S. has made the Canadians pay for being down a player. Abbey Murphy has scored all three of her goals on the power play. Canada kills this one.
USA’s Abbey Murphy scores again
It’s a hat trick for Abbey Murphy. Taylor Heise sets her up again for a 4-1 U.S. lead. Kirsten Simms got the other assist.
USA power play
It’s another power play opportunity for the U.S. women.
Canada’s Renata Fast was given 2 minutes for cross checking 1:08 into the third period. It’s Canada’s sixth penalty of the night.
Third period underway
3-1 USA.
When will we know the Olympic team?
The Olympic roster is expected to be released in early January, and U.S. coach John Wroblewski will have some decisions to make.
Olympic rosters have 23 players, seven fewer than the U.S. has for the Rivalry Series. The Americans are expected to take three goaltenders to Milan Cortina, which leaves 20 spots for the Olympic team. Fewer than that, really, given players such as captain Hilary Knight, alternate captains Alex Carpenter and Megan Keller, Olympic gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield, and world team veterans Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Taylor Heise and Tessa Janecke are considered locks.
End of second period: USA 3, Canada 1
The USA has scored three consecutive goals since Canada opened the scoring. Abbey Murphy had two goals in the second period, and the USA is outshooting Canada 22-14 through two periods.
Canada and the United States will each start the third period down a player after Sarah Fillier and Cayla Barnes were called for roughing as time expired in the second.
USA’s Abbey Murphy adds to lead
Abbey Murphy is on a hot streak.
Murphy scored her second goal of the night 17:28 into the second period to give the U.S. women a 3-1 lead over Canada. Taylor Heise had the assist, just as she did on Murphy’s first goal. Megan Keller also had an assist.
Skating down the right side, Heise could have taken her own shot. But she that Murphy had a better look at the goal on the other side of the ice. She sent the puck over and Murphy rocketed it past Eve Gascon. Murphy immediately started pointing, as if to say, ‘That’s good! That’s good.’
And it was.
It was Murphy’s second goal of the second period. She had scored on the power play with 9:46 elapsed.
USA power play
The USA goes right back on the power play as Sarah Fillier is called for interference. Canada kills the penalty.
USA takes the lead
The Americans took advantage of Canada’s bad behavior.
Abbey Murphy scored a power play goal from her knees 9:46 into the second period to give the Americans a 2-1 lead over Canada in the Rivalry Series. The goal came almost a minute after Chloe Primerano was given a two-minute penalty for interference, giving the Americans a power-play opportunity.
The Americans were active in front of Canada’s goal and the puck ricocheted over to Murphy. She shot from her knees and Eve Gascon had no chance to stop it. Taylor Heise and Tessa Janecke had assists on the goal.
Second period underway
Score tied 1-1.
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Laila Edwards: Playing before home crowd is ‘surreal’
Laila Edwards, who had an assist in the first period, was interviewed during the first intermission. She called the experience of playing before her home crowd ‘surreal.’
‘I’m dreamt of this growing up,’ she said. ‘To be able to show up for my family and the community that supported me, it’s an honor.’
End of first period: USA 1, Canada 1
Canada’s Sarah Fillier opened the scoring on the power play, but Taylor Heise tied the game 16 seconds later. Shots are 11-9 USA.
The second period will start with one player from each team in the penalty box as Britta Curl-Salemme and Laura Stacey are called for cross-checking with 3.5 seconds left.
USA power play
Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin is called for cross-checking. Canada kills it off.
Canada scores; USA responds quickly
The Americans didn’t let Canada’s lead last long.
Sarah Fillier got the Canadians on board first, scoring on a power play at 9:27 of the first period after Abbey Murphy was given a penalty for body checking. But the Canadians were barely done celebrating when Taylor Heise evened it up at 9:43, putting the puck above Eve Gascon’s reach. Laila Edwards gets an assist.
The goal was confirmed after a review, drawing a big cheer from the crowd at Rocket Arena.
Canada power play
And the first penalty of the night goes to Abbey Murphy. The American was given two minutes for body checking with 12:02 left in the first period.
Game underway
The Rivalry Series game between the USA and Canada is underway. Goalie matchup is USA’s Airen Frankel vs. Canada’s Eve Gascon.
What time is US women’s hockey vs. Canada?
The game is at 7 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
How to watch US women’s hockey vs. Canada
The game will air on the NHL Network.
Laila Edwards gets start
Laila Edwards is getting the start in her hometown.
Edwards, who grew up in the suburb of Cleveland Heights, and Megan Keller are the starting defenders for Thursday night’s Rivalry Series game against Canada. Hilary Knight, Tessa Janecke and Alex Carpenter are forwards on the first line.
The start was a bit of switch after Edwards played on the second line the last two days of training.
Edwards also did the ceremonial puck drop before the game started.
Team USA lineup
Team Canada lineup
Laila Edwards home game
This Rivalry Series opener is a homecoming for Laila Edwards.
She grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a 20-minute drive from Rocket Arena, where Thursday night’s game will be played.
“I don’t even know. I just know it’s going to be a lot,” Edwards said when asked how many family and friends will be at the game.
Edwards plays at Wisconsin, so she’s gotten to play in her home state when the Badgers have played at Ohio State. But playing in her hometown, with the U.S. women, is going to be something special.
“I’m so excited to be playing back at home, at the highest level, against our biggest rivals. Doesn’t get any better,” Edwards said.
Who is playing in US women’s hockey vs. Canada?
The U.S. team features a mix of veterans and new stars on its 30-player roster. Hilary Knight, arguably the greatest player of all time, has already said Milan Cortina will be her final Winter Games, while Kendall Coyne Schofield is trying to make her fourth Olympic team.
Among the younger players, Caroline Harvey, who made her Olympic debut in Beijing, has either won best Defenseman Honors or been on the All-Star Team at every world championships since 2022. Taylor Heise (2022) and Laila Edwards (2024) were both MVPs at the world championships.
Canada’s roster includes 13 players from its gold-medal team in Beijing, led by Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner and Sarah Fillier.
Why is US-Canada women’s hockey rivalry so heated?
Canada and the United States are the dominant teams in the women’s game, and no one else (yet) comes close.
The teams have played each other in the final at every Olympics and world championships but two, with Canada winning five of the seven Olympic gold medals and 13 of the 24 world titles. But the U.S. women have won two of the last three world championships, including an overtime thriller in Czechia in April.
Abbey Murphy, Harvey and Heise had goals in regulation for the Americans before Tessa Janecke scored the game-winner on a tap-in.
Canada leads the Americans in both all-time meetings (108-83-1) and in the Rivalry Series (14-13). But the United States has bragging rights for winning gold in the first Olympic women’s hockey tournament, beating Canada 3-1 at the Nagano Games in 1998.
What is the Rivalry Series?
Now in its sixth season, the Rivalry Series features the U.S. and Canadian women’s national teams. This year’s edition consists of four games, two in the United States and two in Canada.
After Thursday night’s game, the teams will play Saturday in Buffalo, New York. The players will return home for a month — PWHL training camps open next week — before the remaining two games, Dec. 10 and 13 in Edmonton, Alberta.
