USA Hockey – CanucksBanter

Sunday, September 4 | 1:30 p.m. ET | Herning, Denmark | Gold Medal Game

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Women’s Team will play for its 12^th world championship title in its 20 ^th gold medal matchup against the United States at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship on Sunday.

LAST GAME

Canada punched its ticket to the gold medal game with an 8-1 win over Switzerland in the semifinals. Seven different Canadians scored on Saturday, including Kristin O’Neill who recorded her first goal with Canada’s National Women’s Team, plus Jessie Eldridge and Brianne Jenner netted their first goals of the world championship. Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Fillier both had three-point games, giving them nine and 10 respectively so far in the tournament.

The U.S. marched to its 20^th straight championship final with a 10-1 semifinal win over Czechia. Taylor Heise led the offence with two goals and three assists, while Amanda Kessel had a hat trick and an assist in the double-digit win. Nicole Hensley made nine saves to propel the United States to a spot in the gold medal game.

LAST MEETING

Canada dropped a 5-2 decision to the United States when these rivals last faced off on Tuesday in the preliminary round finale. Sarah Fillier continued her offensive streak, burying a rebound to open the scoring before Ella Shelton punched in a goal of her own on the power play. That early offence wouldn’t be enough as the United States scored five unanswered to hand Canada its first loss of the tournament. The Americans outshot the Canadians 33-28 in the game.

WHAT TO WATCH

Ella Shelton added two more assists on Saturday to lead Canada with six so far in the tournament. The playmaking blueliner’s impact is being felt in just her second world championship, recording 11 points in 13 games played at the women’s worlds in her career. Shelton’s ability to jump into the play will be crucial for Canada’s success against the U.S. on Sunday.

Hilary Knight made history on Thursday, scoring a goal and an assist against Hungary to surpass Hayley Wickenheiser as the all-time points leader at the IIHF Women’s World Championship with 87. The 5-foot-11 forward will look to add her ninth gold medal in 12 world championships since her debut in 2007.

A LOOK BACK

While Canada has the all-time edge with 94 wins in 166 games, this rivalry is about as even as they come. Need proof? In the last 14 meetings between the rivals dating back to February 2020, six of those games have needed overtime (Canada has won four, with Poulin getting the game-winning goal in three).

Looking back at the 20 gold medal games at women’s worlds, 19 of them have featured a Canada-United States matchup. The Canadians hold the narrow lead, breaking a five-year U.S. winning streak to earn their 11th title last summer in Calgary.

All-time record: Canada leads 94-71-1 (20-17 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 456
United States goals: 403

Source: Hockey Canada, USA Hockey

By Katie Strang The Athletic

February 11, 2022

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter Friday to USA Hockey concerning the national governing body’s “cooperation” and “compliance” with the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s policies and investigations. The U.S. Center for SafeSport investigates claims of sexual misconduct within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s purview.

In the letter, addressed to USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher and president Mike Trimboli, Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reminded USA Hockey of their legal obligations under the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, which requires national governing bodies to protect athletes from sexual abuse; under the law, NGBs also have the duty to immediately report any “reasonable suspicion” of child abuse to both law enforcement and the Center.

“As the Nassar case exemplifies, inaction may lead to many more victims being harmed, which would be intolerable,” Grassley wrote, referencing the case of Larry Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of young female gymnasts.

The law referenced by Grassley requires the U.S. Center for SafeSport to report to Congress within 72 hours “any attempt to interfere in or influence the outcome of an investigation” by a national governing body. The U.S. Center for SafeSport reported USA Hockey earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic.

It is not immediately clear the nature of the investigation being conducted by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. A spokesperson for the Center declined to comment on the investigation, citing the Center’s policy for ongoing probes. USA Hockey was not immediately available for comment.

Previously, the U.S. Center for Safesport reported to Congress that USA Badminton had potentially run afoul of the law based on allegations that it was discouraging reporting of sexual misconduct, encouraging concealment and destruction evidence on the subject and refusing to cooperate with the Center’s investigation, according to a letter published by Grassley’s office in October 2021.

In that case, Grassley’s office warned USA Badminton officials of its legal obligations and also advised that Grassley had alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the concerns.

USA Hockey has come under scrutiny for how it handled allegations of sexual misconduct. Former USA Hockey president Jim Smith was investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport because of allegations he mishandled claims of sexual abuse involving former prominent Chicago-area youth and college hockey coach Thomas “Chico” Adrahtas. The matter was closed by SafeSport, but Smith later announced he would not seek re-election, referencing these allegations and telling members of the need to be “totally united as we move forward.”

USA Hockey is a co-defendant in a May 2021 federal lawsuit brought by victims of Adrahtas. The complaint alleges that Smith and others within USA Hockey and AHAI (Illinois’ amateur hockey state governing body) were told about the coach’s sexual misconduct and did not report the allegations to law enforcement or investigate the matter. USA Hockey filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in September, asking the court to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)