Canada won the curtain-raiser but USA can claim ice hockey gold
Published:It’s time for the USA Women’s ice hockey team to forget about past failures as they prepare to take on North American rivals Canada in the final at this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Not since the inaugural women’s event in Japan in 1998 have Team USA claimed the gold medal and Ladbrokes are making Katey Stone’s side the 6/5 favourites to end that drought.
Canada, winner of three of the previous four women’s ice hockey gold medal matches, are available at 7/4 to beat the U.S for the third time at this stage.
A 2-0 victory on their home ice in Vancouver four years ago saw the Canadians take the spoils at the last Winter Olympics but their dominance in the event is now under serious threat.
And that might be difficult to comprehend, especially given the fact that as recently as the preliminary round Canada coach Kevin Dineen saw his team enjoy a 3-2 triumph over their southern neighbours.
But that result doesn’t offer a full snapshot of how the Americans have recently closed the gap in terms of head-to-head success against their great rivals.
USA have won five of their last seven encounters against their counterparts, including four in a row during a pre-Olympic series prior to their most recent loss.
They’re unlikely to dwell on that defeat though, having swept away the rest of the opposition ahead of this shot at exacting revenge.
The world’s top-ranked team have outscored the Canadians 20-14 in this year’s Olympic tournament, a statistic enhanced by a 9-0 rout of Switzerland where they scored five goals in the opening period.
USA’s women are 5/4 to win the race to three goals in regulation time when the two hockey powerhouses face-off once again.
Meanwhile, a repeat of Team USA’ 3-1 victory in Nagano is priced at 12/1 with Canada to win by a 3-2 scoreline once again available at 14/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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