UTICA – Fans got a little more than they expected from Monday’s highly anticipated United States-versus-Canada game at the Adirondack Bank Center. Three minutes and 38 seconds more, to be precise.
Tournament newcomer Kirsten Simms scored her first career International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship goal to break a scoreless deadlock in overtime and the United States defeated Canada 1-0 in the final game of pool play for both squads.
“It was obviously a super exciting moment,” Simms said. “I’m super pumped that we pulled out the win.”
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Simms scored her three-on-three goal with an assist from University of Wisconsin teammate Caroline Harvey. Canada’s Brianne Jenner slipped and lost control of the puck in the corner of her offensive zone. Harvey corralled the puck and raced up the left wing side, crossed the far blue line and dropped the puck back to Simms in the middle of a three-on-one attack. Simms scored with a low shot between Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens and the left post.
The puck hit the net, the crowd erupted and the U.S. team swarmed Simms by the penalty box opposite its bench.Not the goal that Simms expected for her first in an international tournament, but a memory maker for the 19-year-old.
“I’ll take any goal,” she said. “This one’s just extra special.”
The U.S. had started fast and finished with strong play in regulation. The team’s energetic third-period play carried over to overtime.
“We came out with a lot of energy in the first period and brought it back in the third and overtime,” said goaltender Aerin Frankel, who made 26 saves in her second tournament shutout and the team’s third. “It was just a matter of time. We were going to find the net.”
The first period saw the United States avoid the early penalties that had plagued the team in its two previous games. The teams were called only for matching penalties in the final five minutes of the period; the United States had been penalized four times in the first period against Czechia and five times Friday when Finland scored two power-play goals.
Team USA killed back-to-back penalties in the second period Monday, and a third with 4:15 remaining in regulation. Canada’s penalty-killing unit remains unscored upon in the tournament.
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