Coming off a 3-0 victory over Finland, the U.S. Women's National Team will take on the Russian Olympic Committee Tuesday in Game 3 of the preliminary round of the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship. Puck drop at WinSport Arena is at 2 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NHL Network.
THE LAST TIME OUT
The U.S. and ROC met on two occasions at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. After defeating ROC 10-0 in the preliminary round in 2019, the U.S. faced ROC again in the semifinals, where Team USA claimed an 8-0 victory to secure a spot in the gold-medal game. Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) each scored twice to help lift Team USA to victory.
SERIES VS. RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The U.S. and Russian Olympic Committee have faced off on 15 separate occasions at the IIHF Women's World Championship and the U.S. owns a perfect 15-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L). The U.S. has outscored ROC by a 138-8 margin all-time at the WWC.
WINNING MENTALITY
After starting the 2021 WWC 2-0-0-0, the U.S. Women's National Team is riding a 28-game win streak at the Women's World Championship. The last time the U.S. have lost at the WWC was April 2, 2013 when Team USA lost in a shootout to Canada. After that loss, the U.S. went on to win four-straight and win gold at the 2013 WWC, kick starting its gold medal streak.
RECORD WATCH
This tournament marks Hilary Knight's (Sun Valley, Idaho) 11th appearance at the IIHF Women's World Championship, which sets the record for most appearances by any U.S. player. Knight is one goal away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in Women's World Championship history, after tying Cammi Granato's record 44 goals in Game 2 against Finland. In addition to the all-time scoring record, Knight is two points away from tying the U.S. all-time leading points record (78 points), which is also currently held by Granato. Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) is now tied with Krissy Wendell and Jenny Potter for the U.S. all-time assists record in WWC play (record is 38 assists) after recording an assist against Switzerland.