Music: {allcanada} US and Canada, brawling pals of women's ice hockey

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

{allcanada} US and Canada, brawling pals of women's ice hockey

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Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - They may be friends off the ice but there is no love lost between the Canadian and the United States women's hockey teams who have brawled twice in the build up to the Olympics.

Defending champions Canada have lost four of seven matches, including the last four straight, to the USA in the pre-Olympic exhibition series.

The two have also squared off in all but one of the last 19 Olympic and World Championship finals since the women took the international hockey stage with the debut of the world championships in 1990.

It is a bitter rivalry that intensified in the build up to Sochi after two of those four Canada losses featured minor brawls where multiple fights were going on at the same time.

The US completely outclassed Canada 5-1 in one of those contests.

"When you have the top two teams playing against each other this is always going to happen," said Canada assistant coach Danielle Goyette on Wednesday.

"Now we have more Canadians playing in the US in college hockey and they are friends on their team but now everybody wants to show to the other team who is the best in women's hockey and that is what keeps the rivalry alive."

However, Goyette, who won two Olympic gold medals for Canada in 2002 and 2006, said the dislike between the two teams was even more profound when she competed for Canada.

"When I was playing in 1998 their players could not talk to us off the ice," Goyette said. "Their coach didn't like it when they talked to us."

Meanwhile, Goyette insists that the three-time defending Olympic gold medallist is the underdog against the USA.

"We are the underdogs because we lost four games against them this year and they are the world champions," Goyette said.

"We have everything to prove and for them they have to do everything to stay on top."

Canada's recent troubles were highlighted recently when Haley Wickenheiser was stripped of her captain title and replaced by Caroline Ouellette.

Wickenheiser had been the captain for every major international event since 2006.

The captain change followed the resignation in December of head coach Dan Church.

Church sent shock waves through the programme by stepping down with just 58 days until the opening ceremony in Sochi.

Despite Canada's problems, and because the gap between the top two and the other six teams the women's tournament is so huge, the women's tournament will still be a two-team race.

"The 5-1 game was the day our head coach resigned so emotionally it was a difficult day," Ouellette said Wednesday. "We were not in that game right from the start.

"Right now we feel good about where we are at and where the energy is."

Canada opens the tournament against Switzerland and Finland followed by a preliminary round match against the US on February 12.

"We are focused on first two games of the tournament then the third game we face the US and we are excited to see where we are at," Ouellette said.

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