ESPOO, Finland – Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.) scored the game-winning goal in the second period as the U.S. prevailed over Canada, 3-2, here tonight in its second game of preliminary-round play at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
“Any time these two teams get together and play, it comes down to executing the little things, making good decisions and winning the special teams battle,” said Bob Corkum (Salisbury, Mass.), head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “I was proud of the effort tonight by both our penalty-kill and power-play units. We’re certainly happy to walk away with this win.”
Highlights
Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) opened the scoring for the U.S. 4:23 into the opening period. Storming into the Canadian zone on a two-on-one, Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.) put a centering pass on Knight’s stick for the 1-0 score.
Two minutes later, Canada evened the score with a power-play goal. Brianne Jenner took a shot from the face-off circle and Sarah Nurse was able to capitalize on a second-chance opportunity with traffic in front of U.S. netminder Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.).
With 1:47 remaining in the opening period, Canadian defender Micah Zandee-Hart lost an edge and turned the puck over to Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.). On the breakaway, Coyne Schofield went five-hole on Emerance Maschmeyer for the go-ahead score.
With Knight in the penalty box for a tripping infraction early in the second, Canada evened things up. Jenner tipped home Brigette Lacquette’s shot from the point to bring the score to two apiece.
After the U.S. and Canada exchanged scoring chances throughout much of the middle frame, Pankowski broke through with a shot from the top of the right face-off circle to regain the lead for Team USA with 5:57 remaining in the second. Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif.) picked up an assist on the play.
Canada’s Renata Fast was called for the ninth penalty of the game at the start of the third period, giving the U.S. a great chance to increase its lead, but Maschmeyer made a glove save on Alex Carpenter’s (North Reading, Mass.) shot from the blue line to hold the score at 3-2.
Late in the third, Team USA staved off the Canadian attack, killing off its fifth penalty of the night out of a total of seven called penalties on the Americans. Thanks to a strong special teams effort, the score would stand 3-2 at the final buzzer.
Rigsby made 31 saves in net to seal the win for Team USA.
The U.S. (2-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) continues preliminary-round play tomorrow (Sunday) against Switzerland at 12:30 p.m. ET. That game, along with every U.S. tournament game, will be televised live in the United States on NHL Network.
Pankowski on GWG
Photos
NOTES: Cameranesi was tabbed U.S. Player of the Game ... Canada outshot the U.S., 33-30. For complete game statistics, click here ... Corkum is serving as head coach of the 2018-19 U.S. Women's National Team, alongside assistant coaches Joel Johnson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Brian Pothier (New Bedford, Mass.), and goaltending coach Steve Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska)... The U.S. has won the last four IIHF Women's World Championships and captured the top prize a total of eight times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), including seven of the last eight tournaments. Team USA is 71-4-6-8-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) in 90 career games and has outscored opponents 593-135 ... All games will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NHL Network... For more information about the tournament, click here.
2019 U.S. Schedule
All U.S. games were televised live on NHL Network
Games were held at Metro Areena
| DATE | OPPONENT/ROUND | LOCATION | TIME (LOCAL/ET) | TELEVISION | U.S. Player of the Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., April 4 | Finland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 6-2 | NHL Network | Kendall Coyne Schofield |
| Sat., April 6 | Canada Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 3-2 | NHL Network | Dani Cameranesi |
| Sun., April 7 | Switzerland Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Megan Keller |
| Tue., April 9 | Russia Preliminary |
Espoo, Finland | W, 10-0 | NHL Network | Lee Stecklein |
| Thu., April 11 | Japan Quarterfinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 4-0 | NHL Network | Maddie Rooney |
| Sat., April 13 | Russia Semifinals |
Espoo, Finland | W, 8-0 | NHL Network | Hilary Knight |
| Sun., April 14 | Finland Gold-Medal Game |
Espoo, Finland | W, 2-1 (SO) | NHL Network | Annie Pankowski |
2019 U.S. WWC News
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U.S. Women’s National Team Earns Best of April Honors for Team USA Awards
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Rigsby Plays Big Role in U.S.’s Fifth Straight WWC Title
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