The Americans Remain Undefeated With Win Over Team Canada

The highly anticipated showdown between Canada and Team USA ended with both teams losing their shutout streaks and the US taking the matchup 2-1.

Despite neither team playing the night before, it certainly looked like neither team was at the top of their game for this round-robin matchup. The game just lacked the usual fire we see between these two powerhouses.

Team USA scored first after Lee Stecklein fired a shot from the point that fooled Desbiens. This is her first time back at the championship since 2022. The goal ended Team Canada's shutout streak at just under 7 periods of play.

Canada did return some of the pressure, but wasn't able to fool Frankel.

The US struck again in the second period, as another defender, Megan Keller, undressed half of Team Canada to get a shot off on Desbiens. The puck found twine, bringing the American lead up to two goals.

Tempers heated up over the game, with the teams trading penalties in the second period. Stacey had a great breakaway chance, but Frankel shut the door, keeping the American lead safe going into the third.

But Stacey's luck finally came through, and she got Canada on the board in the third. It was a breakaway goal off a pass from, who else, Marie-Philip Poulin. She just managed to sneak it past Frankel to break the goose egg.

Despite Canada seemingly looking disinterested in the second period, they did push in the third period to try and tie up the game, but Frankel proved too strong.

Team USA captured the win 2-1, outshooting Canada 28-19. Blayre Turnbull took home MVP honours for Team Canada, while Megan Keller was named MVP for the Americans.

"I can't say enough good things about Megan Keller," Lee Stecklein told IIHF.com, "Just an awesome all-around defender and an incredible offensive threat."

Canada will face Czechia tomorrow to round out their round robin play, and the United States takes on Switzerland on Tuesday.

Good news for Canadian fans, though, the winner of the round robin game between these two teams usually loses the elimination game. Small victories, I guess.

The game also broke the cumulative tournament record for a non-North American Women's World Championship, bringing in 5,538 fans. The total number of attendees thus far has been 56,026.

Other games today:

Hungary 0 - Norway 3

Norway captured their first victory at the World Championships since 1994 with a decisive win over Team Hungary early on Sunday.

Despite being outshot 45-21, the Norwegians took the win on goals from Furulund, Bergesen, and Sirium, as well as a stellar performance by goaltender Ena Nystrom.

Despite drastically outshooting their opponents, Hungary is in danger of being the first team to finish the tournament without scoring since Kazakhstan did it in 2007.

Sweden 2 - Japan 0

An Emma Soderberg shutout solidified Sweden's lead in Group B, likely helping them to escape a quarter-final matchup with Team Canada or Team USA.

Paula Bergstrom struck first before the end of the first period, and Hanna Thuvik added the insurance marker in the third. The team had to escape a last-chance push from Japan after Kjellbin took a delay-of-the-game penalty with 2 minutes to go.

With three wins in three games, Sweden has their sights set on earning a medal this tournament.

Tomorrow's Games (April 14):

🇩🇪 Germany vs Hungary 🇭🇺, 11 am (local), 5 am (EST)

🇨🇭 Switzerland vs Finland 🇫🇮, 3 pm (local), 9 am (EST)

🇨🇦 Canada vs Czechia 🇨🇿, 7 pm (local), 1 pm (EST)

Game to watch: Canada vs Czechia

The Czechs will look to take advantage of Canada on a back-to-back to beat them on home ice. Can they rebound from their loss to Finland on Saturday?