USA beat Canada in overtime in women’s world ice hockey championship final – as it happened (2025)

The player of the tournament is announced, and it’s Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin.

So on that note, we’ll sign off. USA-Canada women’s hockey games rarely disappoint, and this one certainly didn’t.

PWHL action resumes Saturday. Enjoy.

The players of the game are announced.

For Canada, Renata Fast. Absolutely the right call. She covered the ice like a Zamboni.

For the USA, golden-goal scorer Tessa Janecke.

Great interview with Gwyneth Philips, the goalie who held on through the Canadian barrage.

“What was going through your mind when you were put in the game?”

“Not a lot!”

Do you believe in minor miracles?

Their starting goalie was out of the game after being absolutely leveled. A rotating series of international superstars kept ripping shots at the backup goalie. The USA looked like traffic cones compared to the speedy Canadians.

And the USA somehow pulled off the win.

OK, maybe not totally bereft. They unleash the forecheck. Great idea.

Heise gets the puck to well out to Desbiens’ left and zips a pass to Janecke at the post.

Game over.

Canada 3-3 USA, 3:00 left, overtime: USA are just bereft of attacking ideas.

Canada 3-3 USA, 3:38 left, overtime: Stacey rips a shot that Philips barely blocks. That’s 46 shots to the USA’s 29. The USA haven’t looked dangerous in a very long time.

Canada 3-3 USA, 4:38 left, overtime: Yikes. The puck is played ahead to Stacey behind the US defense, but she’s offside. By a lot. Whether you’re using hockey or soccer/football rules.

Canada 3-3 USA, 5:16 left, overtime: Poulin sneaks in a dangerous shot. That’s 45 for Canada.

Clark races back to break up a US chance. Canada have just been faster, like Apolo Ohno skating against, oh, me.

Canada 3-3 USA, 6:18 left, overtime: Turnbull is in the attacking third, which is a pity because her teammates aren’t.

At this point, maybe just let Harvey and Fast go 1-on-1 to settle this.

Canada 3-3 USA, 7:35 left, overtime: Poulin and a US player get their face masks tangled. Our officials stop the action.

Canada 3-3 USA, 7:55 left, overtime: Harvey goes 1-on-3 and makes a sweet move to beat all three, but Desbiens makes the shot. Wherever the other two US players were, they don’t get back into position, and Stacey gets a breakaway that Philips stops.

Canada 3-3 USA, 8:25 left, overtime: Watts shoots. Philips gives up a rebound but scrambles it clear.

Finally, after an eternity, the puck is at the other end of the ice.

For about three seconds.

Canada come the other way and get multiple shots in close. USA hanging by a thread.

Canada 3-3 USA, 9:19 left, overtime: Another faceoff in the US zone. The USA need to find the right trio to regain momentum. It’ll be Pannek and company.

Canada 3-3 USA, 9:37 left, overtime: Fast circles and circles and circles and finally has a passing lane, but the US defense recover.

Inexorably, though, Canada are taking control.

Canada 3-3 USA, 10:44 left, overtime: Poulin beats the defense and tries to flip a backhand shot past Philips. The backup US goalie, pressed into service after Frankel’s injury, continues to hold her ground well.

Canada 3-3 USA, 11:12 left, overtime: USA fumble a bouncing puck but retreat and maintain possession.

Heise has a go, but it’s straight at Desbiens.

Harvey shoots and forces Desbien to cover up.

Canada 3-3 USA, 12:20 left, overtime: Are three Canadian players named “Renata Fast,” or does she never take a break?

Canada 3-3 USA, 12:45 left, overtime: Pannek has space! To Janecke!

Saved.

Canada 3-3 USA, 13:25 left, overtime: Carpenter feeds Heise, but Desbiens makes the save.

Harvey stops Turnbull, but the Canadian reclaims it and nearly pokes in the winning goal. Philips just gets a skate to the post to close the angle.

Canada 3-3 USA, 14:45 left, overtime: Shot count is 39-24. How is this game tied?

Abbie Murphy breaks up a Canadian possession.

Hilary Knight unleashes a slap shot, but Desbiens isn’t troubled.

Canada 3-3 USA, 16:12 left, overtime: Turnbull shoots from an acute angle, but Philips is alert.

PA is playing Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode, a staple of my cover band’s setlist.

Canada 3-3 USA, 16:54 left, overtime: Janecke presses the Canadian defense, but they break and get forward.

Back in the Canadian end while teams change up. Rinse, repeat.

Canada 3-3 USA, 18:14 left, overtime: Harvey, Heise and Carpenter out there for USA. Clark, Ambrose … never mind, it’s a line change.

Canada 3-3 USA, 18:48 left, overtime: Chance for the USA, but Hilary Knight’s shot is blocked by the defense. She tries to force it through, and Desbiens covers.

Canada 3-3 USA, 19:12 left, overtime: Already a huge save by Philips, as Watts was wide open about five feet from the goal for the one-timer.

Canada 3-3 USA, overtime, time doesn’t really matter: We’re off.

The last world championship final to go to overtime was … last year. The USA took a penalty 3:17 into the game, giving Canada a 4-on-3 power play. They scored with one second left.

Before that, in 2021, Poulin scored 7:22 into overtime for the Canadian win.

Before that, the rules were different.

Steve Chiu asks: “Has there ever been a full 20 minute period of 3-on-3 sudden death hockey on the international stage?”

He checked with something AI and found that two Swedish teams played a full session without scoring, but that’s very much an exception.

I would not expect this one to go 20 minutes, nor would I expect the USA to be the team that scores.

Incidentally – what does it say about those of us from the USA that what the rest of the world calls “Golden Goal,” we call “sudden death” instead?

At least wrestling tends to call it “sudden victory.” This isn’t Rollerball.

TSN’s studio crew reviews the pivotal charge by Stacey on US goalie Frankel. They’re surprised Stacey wasn’t ejected from the game.

Might as well share a classic Simpsons clip:

Few athletes have a more appropriate last name than Renata Fast. The Canadian blueliner could win a race to a loose puck even if she starts out several yards behind.

Good spell of possession for the USA. Canada go the other way, but it’s broken up. USA the other way, stopped. Canada to hold for a final shot. It’s just wide. There’s a last-second shot …

… redirected wide.

We’ll be back after intermission.

Canada 3-3 USA, 1:52 left, 3rd period: The USA barely avoid a delay-of-game penalty as Laila Edwards inadvertently sends the puck into the bench.

Carpenter leads a good forecheck for the USA. Canada reclaim but don’t have numbers, and they dump it in to get a line change.

Another penalty barely avoided – fans and coaches most definitely wanted something called as players make contact on the red line.

Canada 3-3 USA, 3:46 left, 3rd period: Conceded goal notwithstanding, Philips has looked solid since stepping in for the injured Frankel.

The bad news for the USA: They really don’t look like scoring here.

Clark with a steal. She tries to sneak the puck past Philips. It bounds out into the faceoff circle, and Sarah Fillier shoots through traffic.

The USA appear to be considering a challenge for goaltender interference, but if they lose, they’d incur a penalty. They opt against it.

Canada 2-3 USA, 6:50 left, 3rd period: Desbiens hangs on again.

Steve Chiu writes: “This undisciplined play from Canada is killing any chance they have of establishing some rhythm. It’s been pretty much all USA this period, with Canada’s best chance coming when they were shorthanded.”

Seconded.

Canada 2-3 USA, 7:13 left, 3rd period: Big save for Desbiens early in the power play, and then the USA once again have trouble setting up. They finally get set halfway through the power play. Desbiens does well to intercept a crossing pass right in front of her.

Murphy circles and circles and finally shoots as the power play comes to an end.

Canada 2-3 USA, 10:14 left, 3rd period: The longest 10 minutes and change of Gwyneth Philips’ life begin now. She holds on to a hard Canadian shot.

Canada 2-3 USA, 11:14 left, 3rd period: Philips fends off the first half-chances she has faced.

Canada 2-3 USA, 13:00 left, 3rd period: The best defense is a strong offense, the saying goes, and Canada kill the rest of the power play by pinning the USA back in their own zone.

Back to even strength, and Pannek has found space, but Desbiens stands tall for the stop.

Just a perfectly placed shot to the upper corner against a retreating Canadian defense.

USA call timeout. When we resume, the USA will still be on a 5-on-4 power play. Looks like they want to make the most of that situation before Canada get back to even strength and start ripping shots at a goalie who just came into the game.

Canada 2-2 USA, 14:56 left, 3rd period: The USA play patiently. Knight, who has been awfully quiet, rips a shot that’s deflected up and out of play.

Canada 2-2 USA, 15:24 left, 3rd period: Our referee duo, one from the USA and one from Canada, has decided on a two-minute penalty. Could’ve been a five-minute major, but they opted against it. No one seems happy.

So it’ll be 5-on-3 for about 106 seconds.

Canada 2-2 USA, 15:24 left, 3rd period: Gwyneth Philips has entered the game to replace Frankel. She has played two very unchallenging games so far in this championship.

Officials are reviewing the play.

Canada 2-2 USA, 15:24 left, 3rd period: USA’s Taylor Heise takes an opportunistic shot just wide.

USA maintain possession, Desbiens has to make a glove save but can’t hang on, and the USA will go on the power play for the first time. Sarah Nurse off for elbowing.

But then 14 seconds into the power play, we have a disaster. Frankel comes out of the net and gets absolutely leveled by Stacey. It’ll be a 5-on-3 power play for the USA, but the US goalie is still down.

Canada 2-2 USA, 16:30 left, 3rd period: A long spell of shotless possession for the USA, then a short spell of shotless possession for Canada.

These teams just love to build the suspense …

Canada 2-2 USA, 18:50 left, 3rd period: No shots yet. Lots of space on the ice at the moment.

And we’re about to restart. In another 20 minutes of ice time, we’ll have a world champion. Or overtime.

If this ends in a tie …

Fun fact: There were no overtime games in group play. The only game to go to overtime so far has been the third-place game.

In most playoff games, there’s a 10-minute overtime period followed by a penalty shootout.

BUT …

In the gold-medal game, it’s Stanley Cup rules. Play until someone scores. One 20-minute period, then resurface, another 20, resurface, and so on …

The teams play 3-on-3 (3 skaters, 1 goalie per team).

US fans may exhale now.

Canada 2-2 USA, 1:02 left, 2nd period: Shot for Haley Winn, who has been a lively attacker today even though she is, ahem, not a forward.

Canada 2-2 USA, 2:05 left, 2nd period: We’ve had no goals or penalties for the last two minutes.

Canada 2-2 USA, 3:33 left, 2nd period: If you know where the puck was around the 4:20 mark, you’re one up on me and probably 10 of the 12 players on the ice. It disappears into a pile of bodies in front of the US goal. They finally clear.

Replay shows the puck hit the post at one point – another inch to the right, and it’s 3-2.

We’d have to think the USA would consider themselves quite fortunate to keep the score at 2-2 heading into the intermission.

Canada 2-2 USA, 4:40 left, 2nd period: As with the first power play, Canada can do little with the remaining 90 seconds after an early surge. Back to even strength.

Canada 2-2 USA, 6:15 left, 2nd period: Shot count is now 27-14.

Megan Keller sets some sort of record for the fastest penalty after a faceoff, drawing a hooking call as the puck drifts in front of Frankel. Canada back on the power play.

Somehow, the USA survive the first 30 seconds despite a mad scramble in front of and including Frankel.

Canada 2-2 USA, 7:15 left, 2nd period: Frankel has to make one big save 20 seconds into the power play, but the USA clear, and Canada take a while chasing back.

The USA continue to defend well, not allowing Canada to get back into the attacking third. They finally cross the blue line, and the USA send it right back.

Renata Fast circles the entire offensive third with the puck and puts it into traffic in front of the net. The USA survive the scramble, and the power play is over.