‘Nobody believed in us’: Canada takes solace in gold medal loss to USA

It wasn’t the ending they wanted, but, then again, not many expected them to be in that situation to begin with.

Canada came up short of winning a record sixth Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey on Thursday, losing to the rival United States in overtime.

It was an exciting game that saw Canada bring a 1-0 lead into the final minutes of the final in Milan. However, U.S. captain Hilary Knight tipped in the tying goal, sending the game to overtime. There, defender Megan Keller scored the game-winner, giving the Americans their third gold medal, and first since 2018.

Losing in that fashion is gut-wrenching. A capacity crowd, international attention, and arguably the most hype for the biggest women’s hockey tournament in Olympic history. Yet, some of Canada’s players are finding a silver lining.

When speaking to the team, forward Laura Stacey noted the number of doubters Canada had heading into Italy.

“This whole tournament, nobody believed in us,” Stacey said. “Nobody thought this would turn into what it did tonight but us. That inner belief, that pride we had for our country, for our jersey, & honestly for one another shone through.”

The Canadians entered these Winter Games as underdogs following recent performances against Team USA. Canada had lost seven straight games against the Americans heading into Thursday’s championship game, including an embarrassing 5-0 loss in the preliminary round.

Yet, Canada came out with its best effort on Thursday, giving the eventual champions everything it had in the tank. Stacey added that, while the loss was “crushing,” the way the team battled gave them a sense of dignity.

“I do think that looking back on this moment, the team that we were, the pride that we had, the resilience we showed, I think those are the memories and that makes you a better human being, and I think all of us will take a lot from that tonight.”

Defender Erin Ambrose explained after the loss that Canada was motivated by many poking them as underdogs.

“We wanted to put forth an effort that would put us in a position to win a gold medal,” Ambrose said. “We did that. That’s why I’m so proud of this team and so proud to be a Canadian.”

Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens had her best game of the tournament, making 31 saves in the loss. She shared her teammates’ sentiment that they left everything they had on the ice.

“We showed a lot of pride,” Desbiens said. “We clawed, we fought. We were very resilient. We did a lot of the right things. So, we should be proud.”

There’s a lot of belief that these Olympics might be the last with this core of players, including players like Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque and Blayre Turnbull. Even captain Marie-Philip Poulin said after the game that she wasn’t sure whether she would be representing her country in France in 2030.