BEIJING, China — You could call it destiny, or simply the fact that no one else in the world plays women's hockey at the level of the United States and Canada.
A 4-1 semifinal win over Finland overnight has propelled the U.S. into the Olympic gold medal game against Canada, giving them the opportunity to defend their 2018 crown.
As they did in their previous game against the Finns the U.S. got out of the blocks slowly. The first period ended 0-0, and it wasn't until Cayla Barnes scored on a power play early in the second that the vaunted American offensive game got rolling. Veteran forward Hillary Knight made it 2-0 with her 11th career goal, pushing Knight into a tie for second on the all-time points list with Minnesota native Natalie Darwitz (another Minnesotan, Jenny Potter, sits on top with 32 points).
The U.S. closed out Finland by picking up two more in the third period, with Hayley Scamurra scoring on a deflection and Abby Roque picking up an empty-netter with just four seconds remaining in the contest.
Finnish star Susanna Tapani spoiled U.S. goaltender Alex Cavallini's shutout bid with just 26 seconds left. It was only the second goal Cavallini has allowed in three Olympic starts.
The U.S. will meet Canada for gold Wednesday night at 10 p.m. CST, airing live on NBC. The Canadians made the final via a 10-3 pounding of Switzerland, and have now outscored opponents 54-8 during the Olympic tournament. Four of those came against the U.S., who Canada defeated 4-2 in the preliminary round.