GANGNEUNG, South Korea — The U.S. women’s hockey team will attempt to end Canada’s 16-year hold on the Olympic gold medal when the two teams meet Thursday in the championship game (11:10 p.m. ET Wednesday on NBC Sports Network).
Since USA won the first Olympic women’s tournament in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, Canada hs won four consecutive gold medals.
Here is what the Americans must do to win:
Score ugly: The U.S. team averages almost 44 shots a game but have scored 14 goals. No puck luck. Coach Robb Stauber has been stressing that the Americans need to concentrate on “screens, tips and deflections” to push the puck through defenders who are packed in front of the net.