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By the numbers: Canada-USA rematch, more than two years in the making

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By the numbers: Canada-USA rematch, more than two years in the making

It’s been more than two years since we last saw Canada and the United States face off in hockey’s top rivalry at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.

The wait ends Thursday when the pair of hockey powerhouse nations meet to conclude the preliminary round of the 2021 tournament. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at this legendary rivalry at the worlds, plus a snapshot of how each team has performed so far in this year’s event as they prepare to go head-to-head:

A rematch more than two years in the making

By the time the pucks drops Thursday night, it will have been 871 days since we last saw Canada and the U.S. face off at the women’s world championship. If history is an indicator, Thursday’s contest — the grand finale of the preliminary round — is expected to serve as a preview for the gold medal game (scheduled for Aug. 31).

3-2: The last time Canada and USA went head-to-head at the worlds was April 6, 2019. That round-robin matchup saw Team USA come away with a 3-2 win. As the tournament’s history had dictated, the two nations were expected to meet up again in that year’s gold-medal matchup, but a loss to Finland in the semi-final meant Canada contended for bronze.

4-1: The last time we saw Canada and the USA play against one another in any competition was the 2019-20 Rivalry Series, a set of five cross-border matchups that took place between Dec. 14, 2019 and Feb. 8, 2020. That series went to Team USA, 4-1.

5: Team USA has won five consecutive world championship gold medals, dating back to 2013 (the tournament isn’t held during Olympic years, and the 2020 event was cancelled). Their golden streak has represented a bit of a shift atop the hockey world. Canada won the first eight world championships, beginning in 1990, but since that streak ended in 2004 the team has landed atop the podium just twice.

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10-9: Over the course of 19 world championship tournaments, Canada and the U.S. are the only two nations to have claimed its top prize, with the Canadians winning worlds gold 10 times and their cross-border foes now sitting at nine. If Team USA can extend its golden streak to six straight this year, they’ll also even up the all-time score.

18: In 19 world championships since the first event in 1990, Canada and the U.S. have met in the gold-medal game 18 times. The most recent tournament, held in 2019, was the first time we didn’t have a cross-border battle for gold — Canada lost in the semi-final to Finland that year, and went on to claim bronze against the ROC.

2012: The last time Canada won world championship gold was in 2012. It’s been even longer since they’ve won it at home — 2007, in Selkirk, Man. Team Canada can break both droughts this year in Calgary.

2021 tournament trends at a glance

0: Team USA’s goalie tandem of Alex Cavallini and Nicole Hensley has been unsolvable so far this tournament, putting up perfect numbers behind a strong defence. Through three games heading into Friday’s round-robin finale, neither netminder has let in a goal. In two starts (vs. SUI & ROC), Cavallini has faced and stopped 21 pucks. Hensley’s 10-save shutout came against Finland. Will Canada be able to solve them?

3-0: Both Canada and the U.S. head into this final round-robin game undefeated, with the top-seed on the line.

4: There’s a youth surge happening on both sides of the border, and it’s proving fruitful on the scoresheet. Team USA’s Grace Zumwinkle, 22, leads her nation in points with four (2G, 2A) through three games. Canada’s Sarah Fillier, 21, isn’t far behind — she’s got three points so far to factor onto the tournament’s top-10 leaderboard.

5: Team Canada veterans Melodie Daoust and Natalie Spooner have each tallied two goals and three assists for five points through three games so far heading into the matchup against the U.S. That has them tied for second in tournament scoring so far, behind Czech forward Alena Mills.

15-4: Canada’s offence has seen a few outbursts this August, as shown here by their cumulative goal differential. The Canucks have scored five goals in all three contests so far, shaking off a few slow starts and lighting up the scoreboard.

Chasing greatness

Throughout its three-decade existence, the women’s worlds has seen some incredible individual performances. Nine of the tournament’s top 10 all-time points leaders are either Canadian or American, and two of them are still playing today: U.S. forwards Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker, both of whom have already made history at the tournament this month.

45: Number of career goals scored by Team USA forward Hilary Knight on the world championship stage (so far!), surpassing USA Hockey legend Cammi Granato for the most all-time in tournament history. Knight scored No. 44 in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Finland to tie her childhood idol (and the reason she sports No. 21 on her sweater) and officially set the new record at 45 Tuesday against ROC in a 6-0 rout. Granato scored her 44 world championship goals in 43 games over the course of nine tournaments between 1990 and 2005. Knight’s now played 55 games over 11 tournaments since she made her debut in 2007.

78: Knight, who has registered a point in all three of Team USA’s games so far this year in Calgary, needs just one more point to catch Granato’s all-time worlds point total of 78. Passing Granato would place Knight, 32, third in tournament history among all international players and well within reach of the top spot. Decker, 30, isn’t too far off either — she’s currently sitting at 66 career worlds points, and her assist on Knight’s historic goal against ROC made her the all-time U.S. assist leader in women’s world championship play.

86: The all-time tournament points record belongs to Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser, who tallied 37 goals and 86 points in 61 career world championship games. (Second place belongs to her longtime teammate Jayna Hefford, with 83.)

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