COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) scored and Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.) made 33 saves, but the U.S. Women’s National Team fell to Canada, 3-1, here tonight before a crowd of 6,098 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. in the final game of The Time is Now Tour, presented by Toyota.
“We just have to be better in the red zones, that’s the difference between winning and losing,” said Robb Stauber, head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “We’ll give some focus and energy to some things we think we can do better, and we’re going to go into Edmonton and see what that end result looks like.”
Team USA went on the first power play of the game five minutes into regulation, generating multiple scoring chances, but was unable to find the back of the net. Rigsby kept the game scoreless with 11 first-period saves, including a point-blank stop on Brianne Jenner halfway through the frame and a breakaway save against Sarah Nurse in the final minute.
Decker broke the scoreless tie with a power-play goal 2:05 into the middle frame. The play started when Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) corralled the puck during a net-front scramble and slid it across the crease to Decker, who poked it past goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Canada tied the contest with 7:03 remaining in the second stanza on a backhand shot by Haley Irwin before Sarah Nurse scored on a net-front scramble with 1:45 remaining to give Canada a 2-1 advantage.
Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) nearly netted the equalizer before the second intermission, but her shorthanded breakaway was stopped by Desbiens as Canada retained the one-goal lead after 40 minutes.
Less than a minute into the final period, Marie-Philip Poulin sent a one-timer past Rigsby to double the Canadian lead.
Team USA controlled the play in the final two minutes of play with Rigsby pulled for an extra attacker, but was unable to halve the Canada’s lead despite a pair of dangerous chances in front of goal.
The U.S. returns to action on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 7 p.m. ET against Canada at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, in what will be the final matchup between the two rivals before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
NOTES: Brianna Decker was named U.S. Player of the Game…For complete game statistics, click here… The Time is Now Tour consisted 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 results 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, and Facebook.com/uswomenshockey.
