U.S. Defeats Canada in Overtime to Take Top Seed in Women’s Worlds

Kristen Simms scored with 1:22 left in overtime to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Canada in a game full of scoring chances, great goaltending, heart-pounding pace, and plenty of physicality. The win secures first place for the U.S. in Pool A in the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

Both goaltenders played brilliantly in regulation. Canadien goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 23 shots, while American netminder Arien Frankel stopped 26.

The first period saw the two teams engage in a chippy and physical contest with no goals being scored despite the US outshooting the Canadiens 12-6.

Canada turned the tables in the second period, outshooting the U.S. 11-6. Both times had two powerplays in the period, but they could not capitalize on their opportunities. Coming into the game, Team USA has tallied three power-play goals on 11 attempts, a 27 percent clip, good for second-best in the tournament.

Tonight’s game is the 35th all-time meeting between the United States and Canada at the Women’s World Championship. The teams split their two meetings at the 2023 Women’s World Championship.

The tournament’s top five seeds in Group A and the top three in Group B advance to Thursday’s (April 11) quarterfinals. The semifinals are on Saturday (April 13), and the medal games are on Sunday (April 14). The United States has already been assigned to the fourth quarterfinal game, scheduled to start at 8:30 PM EST.