Olympic viewing guide: Archrivals Canada, U.S. square off for women's hockey gold
Plus, Jennifer Jones' curling team faces a do-or-die
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Charles Hamelin's last waltz ended on the sweetest note. In the final Olympic skate of his brilliant career, the Canadian short track icon helped the men's relay team win gold this morning. The walk-off victory gave Hamelin, 37, his sixth Olympic medal, tying him with long track skater Cindy Klassen for the most ever by a Canadian in the Winter Games.
It also gave 24-year-old Steven Dubois his third medal of these Olympics, matching long tracker Isabelle Weidemann for the Canadian lead in Beijing. Both skaters won one of each colour.
As for everything else on Day 12… well, you might want to look away. The Canadian men's hockey team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sweden, while the women's curling team will have to fight for its playoff life after a crushing loss to China (more on that below).
On the other hand, the men's curling team advanced to the playoffs without lifting a broom, and multiple Canadians have a shot at a ski cross medal tonight. And, of course, another golden opportunity awaits in the most anticipated contest of these Olympics: the women's hockey final between Canada and the United States.
Here's what to watch on Wednesday night and Thursday morning:
It's finally here: Canada vs. the United States for women's hockey gold
The matchup we've all been waiting for happens tonight at 11:10 p.m. ET, when the archrivals square off in the final for the sixth time in the seven Winter Olympics since women's hockey was added to the program.
Canada won four golds in a row before the U.S. snapped a 20-year Olympic title drought by beating the champs in a shootout in 2018 in South Korea. The Canadians returned the favour at last summer's world championship in Calgary, halting the Americans' run of five consecutive world titles with an overtime goal by Marie-Philip Poulin.
The Canadian captain's knack for scoring clutch goals against the U.S. borders on absurd. Poulin potted both goals in Canada's 2-0 win in the gold-medal game in Vancouver in 2010, and scored the late tying goal and the overtime winner in the epic 2014 Olympic final. The overtime magician was selected as one of Canada's flag-bearers for the opening ceremony in Beiing, where she and teammate Rebecca Johnston are both going for their third gold medal in four Olympic appearances.
Other Canadian players to watch tonight include Sarah Nurse, who leads the tournament with 16 points in six games as she chases her first Olympic gold; veteran Brianne Jenner, who's tops with nine goals; and 21-year-old Olympic rookie Sarah Fillier, who has eight goals and is being talked about as possibly Canada's next great player. Olympic tournament MVP Mélodie Daoust is back from an injury suffered in the opening game, recording an assist in Canada's 10-3 demolition of Switzerland in the semifinals.
Canada has been an absolute wrecking ball in Beijing, outscoring its opponents 54-8 so far, including a 4-2 win over the U.S. in the group stage. The Americans have not looked as impressive, posting an aggregate goal advantage of "only" 28-8 in their six games. Plus, they're without star forward Brianna Decker after she broke her leg in the opener.
These factors have helped create an usual situation for the gold-medal game. In a matchup that is almost always a stone-cold toss-up, Canada is suddenly heavily favoured to beat the U.S. The betting odds posted by one respected, non-Canadian-based bookmaker imply Canada has about a 65 per cent chance of winning.
Don't count out the defending champs, though. Despite their relatively lacklustre goal differential, the Americans have outshot their opponents by a significantly wider margin than Canada has. This dynamic also played out in their head-to-head meeting, where the U.S. piled up a 53-27 edge in shots. Terrific goaltending by Ann-Renée Desbiens helped the Canadians get the win there, while the Americans' cold sticks have hampered them throughout the tournament. But if they get some better luck tonight and their shots start finding the twine, the odds could quickly shift in their favour. Read a full preview of tonight's Canada-U.S. showdown here.
WATCH | Canada's hockey journey to the Olympic gold-medal game against the U.S.:
Other Canadian medal chances tonight and tomorrow morning
Apart from the guaranteed medal the women's hockey team will get tonight, there's one more event where Canadians have a strong shot at the podium:
Women's ski cross
This sport made its Olympic debut in 2010, and a Canadian has won the women's event every time. Four athletes have a chance to make it 4-for-4 tonight, including two women who already own an Olympic ski cross medal and are among the top contenders to add another.
Marielle Thompson, 29, won Olympic gold in 2014 and a world title in 2019. More importantly, she seems to be back to her old self after suffering a major knee injury last March. Thompson has reached the podium in four of her seven World Cup starts this season, including a victory in Switzerland in December, and is currently ranked third.
Brittany Phelan, 30, took silver at the Olympics four years ago, behind now-retired Canadian teammate Kelsey Serwa. Phelan has also bounced back from a serious knee injury, suffered in 2020, to re-establish herself as an Olympic contender. She's No. 4 in the World Cup rankings after reaching two podiums this season.
Hannah Schmidt, 27, is No. 9 in the World Cup standings and Courtney Hoffos, 24, is 11th. Neither has reached a podium this season, though Hoffos has done it four times on the World Cup circuit in her career.
Everyone will be gunning for Sweden's Sandra Naslund. The reigning world champion is the clear favourite after winning an incredible nine of the 10 World Cup events held so far this season. That includes a victory at the Olympic test event back in November.
Competition begins with the seeding round at 10:30 p.m. ET, but things really get going when the elimination rounds start at 1 a.m. ET. The four-skier medal final goes a little after 2:10 a.m. ET. Read more about Canada's contenders in women's and men's ski cross here.
Some other interesting stuff you should know about
Canada's women's curling team is in a do-or-die spot. And even if they do, they still might die. The scenarios for tonight's final round-robin draw are complicated, but this we know: a loss to Denmark means the Canadians are eliminated. A win gets them into the playoffs in most scenarios, but not all of them, so some help might be required. Skip Jennifer Jones and company are in this pickle because of their wild 11-9 loss this morning to China, which overcame a rare five-point end by Canada in the sixth to rally for the victory in an extra end. Canada (4-4) is favoured tonight to beat Denmark (2-6), which is eliminated from playoff contention. But, wow, this is going to be tense. The game starts at 1:05 a.m. ET.
Canada's men's curling team clinched a playoff spot — without firing a shot. Losses by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and Switzerland last night ensured Canada (5-3) would join Great Britain and Sweden (both 7-1) in the semifinals. The other spot is still up for grabs, and we'll find out who Brad Gushue and the b'ys will face in the semis when the round robin wraps up tonight at 8:05 p.m. ET. The Canadians play the British, while defending champion John Shuster of the U.S. (4-4) fights for his playoff life vs. last-place Denmark. The semifinals go Thursday at 7:05 a.m. ET.
And also…
Kamila Valieva skates for gold — for now. Whether she gets to keep it will be decided down the road, but the embattled 15-year-old Russian figure skater is favoured to nail down the women's title in Thursday's morning's free skate. Valieva, you may have heard, tested positive for a banned drug on Christmas Day, but the result wasn't known until after she helped the ROC win Olympic gold in the team event. Olympic organizers wanted her banned from the women's event, but a court ruled that she could compete. With the possibility that she could later be stripped of any medal she might win tonight, it was decided that no podium ceremony will be held if Valieva finishes in the top three. The free skate starts at 5 a.m. ET, with Valieva going last in the 25-skater field. Canada's Madeline Schizas, who is out of medal contention in 20th place, goes sixth.
How to watch live events
They're being broadcast on TV on CBC, TSN and Sportsnet. Or choose exactly what you want to watch by live streaming on CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app and CBC Sports' Beijing 2022 website. Check out the full streaming schedule (with links to live events) here and read more about how to watch the Games here.
If you're located outside Canada, you unfortunately can't access CBC Sports' coverage of the Games on the app or the website. That's due to the way Olympics media rights deals work. But if you're in the northern United States or other international regions, such as Bermuda, that regularly offer the CBC TV network, you can watch the Games there.
Something else to check out
The 4% Rising newsletter: A study done a few years back found that only four per cent of traditional media coverage was devoted to women's sports. Hence the name of this newsletter focused on helping you find live women's sports on TV and online. Sample the latest edition here.
