IIHF – Canada-U.S. rivalry reignited

What to expect from the teams

These two teams are no strangers to each other. However, there’s a tremendous amount of mutual respect.

“They have a great team and I’ve seen that over the years,” Poulin said.  “I’ve had the chance to play against them, and it’s a big rivalry. That’s why we push women’s hockey to be better. Everybody’s getting better. Everybody is pushing the bar to be better, and that’s why those games are so good. We have a lot of respect for the Americans. We train hard, we want to win, and we all go for the same goals. That’s why it’s very intense.”

Echoing Poulin’s sentiments is Heise, who says Canada’s tight-knit character will serve them well in this series.

“A lot of [the Canadians] train with each other in the summer, which gives them a leg up,” said Heise, who led the PWHL playoff scoring race with eight points as Minnesota won the inaugural 2024 championship. “Some of them play with each other in the PWHL. There’s a line on Canada’s team that hasn’t changed in two years. They play with speed and grit. They’ve got a lot of strength too.”

Heise, the first overall draft pick in the 2023 PWHL Draft, expects Canada to come out of the gate hard and set the tone.

“They will try to show their dominance immediately, try to get us to quit or get up on us early,” she said.

Ryan expects a high-tempo and offensively driven battle against the Americans.

“The U.S. has done a good job providing some stability there for the athletes, where the coaches have been around for several years,” Ryan said. “We expect a dangerous team. They’re dynamic. We’re wise, older, and experienced, and our chemistry is strong. They’re a youthful and dynamic group. It’s two teams that have been constructed differently, but are at very similar levels. They’re very skilled, talented and well-coached. You expect a battle every time you play against them.”

While Ryan was pleased with the team’s penalty kill in Utica, one area for improvement is the power play. To that end, he has handed responsibility to assistant coaches Caroline Ouellette and Brittany Smith.

“They’ll just kind of breathe a little bit of oxygen into it and probably help take it to another level,” Ryan said.  “We have enough talent there. We’ve got to make sure we’re executing. The good thing about the power play last year is it necessarily wasn’t great percentage-wise, but we scored some big goals when we needed to.”

On the other side, the…