Danielle Serdachny scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift Canada to a 6-5 victory over the United States in the Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Utica, New York, on Sunday.
Serdachny’s power-play goal 5:16 into overtime saw the Canadians reclaim the world title from the United States, who triumphed in the gold medal game in Canada last year.
She fired home the rebound after a shot from teammate Erin Ambrose was turned away by US goaltender Aerin Frankel — who finished with 25 saves.
Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice, her first goals of the tournament.
Emily Clark, Ambrose and Julia Gosling also scored and goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens made 19 saves for Canada.
The United States had goals from Laila Edwards, Megan Keller, Caroline Harvey, Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter.
It marked the 22nd time in 23 editions that Canada and the United States met in the final and it was tied at 5-5 through three periods of fierce back-and-forth action at the Adirondack Bank Center.
Ambrose put Canada in front when her pass deflected off Harvey’s stick into the net.
Edwards, coming off a hat-trick in the semi-final victory over Finland, pulled the United States level but Gosling fired a shot through Frankel’s legs to restore Canada’s lead early in the second period.
Keller got an equalizer past Desbiens and Carpenter put the United States ahead, but Poulin responded with a wrist shot that tied it up at 3-3 late in the second period.
The United States went ahead again midway through the third when a shot by Harvey came off the boards to Knight, who fired home the rebound.
Canada pulled level again less than two minutes later with a goal from Clark, then Poulin’s second — a gritty effort over Frankel’s pads — made it 5-4 with 7:41 left in the third.
With little more than five minutes left, Lacey Eden passed the puck from behind the net to Harvey, who put it past Desbiens to make it 5-5 and set the stage for Serdachny’s golden goal heroics.
Finland came away with bronze, beating the Czech Republic 3-2 in a shootout with Petra Nieminen scoring the shootout winner.
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