11/08/25 10:36:00
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11/08 22:35 CST Hilary Knight scores 3 in Team USA's 6-1 rout of Canada in Game
2 of Rivalry Series
Hilary Knight scores 3 in Team USA's 6-1 rout of Canada in Game 2 of Rivalry
Series
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) --- It took a mere two exhibition games in Hilary Knight's
lead up to what will be her fifth and final Winter Games for the face of U.S.
women's hockey to show she hasn't lost her scoring touch.
"I didn't know I did," Knight said with a laugh following her three-goal outing
in a 6-1 rout of Canada and a 2-0 lead in the women's hockey Rivalry Series on
Saturday night.
At 36, the team captain and Team USA's most decorated female player certainly
didn't look old or out of place since going public in May to announce this will
be her final Olympics. And Knight did so following a PWHL season in which she
finished tied for the league lead with 29 points in 30 games.
On Saturday, Knight's first two goals came from familiar spots in front of the
net, before closing with an empty-net goal.
Knight's outburst came on the heels of Abbey Murphy scoring a natural hat trick
in a 4-1 series-opening win between the cross-border rivals and global powers
at Cleveland on Thursday. And it provided yet another glimpse of the depth of
offensive talent the Americans have heading into the Milan Cortina Games in
February.
"I told (Murphy) that she set the bar pretty high," Knight said, before
deferring much of the credit to her teammates. "I love how we showed up. We've
been working like dogs since August and to get rewarded for our work and see
situations that we need to work on. But I think overall, it was a great team
win."
Laila Edwards had a goal and two assists, while Kelly Pannek and Hayley
Scamurra, in her Buffalo homecoming, also scored for the Americans. Team USA's
projected backup Gwyneth Philips stopped 29 shots.
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored and Kayle Osborne stopped 26 shots
in her national team debut. Osborne is coming off her rookie season with the
PWHL's New York Sirens, and got the start with coach Troy Ryan going with a
younger lineup. Canada left several veterans at home to rest, including
projected starting goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Ryan acknowledged the younger and speedy Americans resemble the Canadian team
that set numerous Olympic offensive records and won the gold medal at the 2022
Beijing Games.
And yet, Ryan isn't pushing any panic buttons by noting these are only
exhibition games, and he's still tinkering with his lineup. Aside from sitting
out several veterans, Ryan noted he also put some of his players in situations
to see how they'd respond.
"It's just about getting better. I don't get caught up in two back-to-back
losses like that," Ryan said in noting he liked how Canada was competitive by
trailing 2-1 through 40 minutes.
"You don't want to have a loser mentality. You don't want to be OK with it," he
added. "But it's also just part of the process and we've got to make sure we're
better moving forward."
The series is limited to four games this year and takes a month break with
players either returning to college or reporting to their PWHL teams for the
start of training camp and start of the season on Nov. 21. The nations will
close the series with two games in Edmonton, Alberta, on Dec. 10 and 13.
Ryan plans to go with a lineup that features more veterans and will closer
resemble the team's final roster.
The U.S. has won four straight against Canada, including a 4-3 overtime win at
the world championships in the Czech Republic in April.
Knight opened the scoring with a power-play goal 9:26 into the second period by
converting a rebound in front after Osborne stopped Megan Keller's point shot.
Pannek scored 65 seconds later after Osborne misplayed a dump-in behind her net.
Leading 2-1, the Americans erupted for three goals over a 2:56 span in the
third period. Edwards started the run by driving across the blue line, avoiding
Micah Zandee-Hart's sliding check and roofing a shot below the crossbar.
___
AP women's hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
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