COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The U.S. Women’s National Team fell to Canada, 2-0, here tonight at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in an exhibition game in preparation for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
“The outcome is not what we want, but at the end of the day we have to look at our progress,” said Robb Stauber, U.S. Women’s National Team head coach. “We did some good things tonight, I think we did some things better tonight than we did two nights ago, but we ended up with the same net result, not scoring enough.”
Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif.) created a scoring chance for Team USA with 5:52 remaining in the first frame when she skated down to the right faceoff circle and fired a shot, but could not get it past Canadian netminder Genevieve Lacasse. With less than five minutes to play, U.S. goaltender Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.) dismissed a Canadian shot from in between the hash marks to keep the game scoreless. Both teams had power play opportunities throughout the period, but neither team could convert.
With 11:23 on the clock in the second period, Team USA had multiple opportunities on the power play during a net-front scramble, but could not light the lamp. Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) had one of the U.S.’s best chances of the night around the eight-minute mark when she skated down the right side and stickhandled the puck in between the legs of a Canadian defender, but she could not get her shot past Lacasse.
Team Canada went on a breakaway at 2:08, but was shut down by Rigsby to keep the score at 0-0. With 3:10 left in the game, Jill Saulnier of Team Canada scored with a backhanded goal to take the lead. Team USA pulled Rigsby from the goal with just over a minute remaining, and despite a strong effort to rally, Canada scored an empty-netter, leaving the final score at 2-0.
Rigsby made 19 saves on 21 shots in the game.
The U.S. returns to action against Canada in the final game of The Time Is Now Tour, presented by Toyota, on Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.
NOTES: The U.S. outshot Canada 32-21… For complete game statistics, click here … The Time is Now Tour consists of a series of games in the U.S. to assist the U.S. Women’s National Team in preparation for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. For more information, including the full schedule and ticket information, visit TheTimeisNowTour.com … For full coverage of the U.S. Women’s National Team, click here . Follow along on social media @USAHockey on Twitter and Instagram, andFacebook.com/uswomenshockey.
