USA is the lucky winner in a hard-fought and exhausting semi-final that was only decided in extra time. Defending champions Canada are thus dethroned.
The start showed that - as in the group game - it was going to be a hard-fought encounter. The game went back and forth, with both teams having their chances but failing due to consistent defense work. After a penalty against Steadman, the Canadians laid siege to Wolejko's goal, but without scoring. A few moments later, it was the same picture at the other end: The Americans put on a remarkable power play, shining with gritty shots, but they too failed to find the net. Team Canada then pushed the USA more and more into defense, creating chance after chance, but were thwarted by the fierce defense and the reliable American goalkeeper. The first period ended goalless.
At the start of the second period, Hannah Linday intercepted in boxplay a bad pass from the Canadians and went in alone on the Canadian goalkeeper, who made a miraculous save. The Canadian goalkeeper was able to make excellent saves in another powerplay by Team USA, saving her team from conceding a goal. The pace of both teams became increasingly tough. One minute before the end of the period, Melanie Jue was only able to stop her American opponent with a foul. Colleen Murphy took advantage of this powerplay with a powerful shot from distance to give the USA a 1:0 lead.
In the middle of the 3rd period, a penalty against the USA gave Canada the chance to equalize. However, Elysia Desmier-Pelletier only made it 1:1 after the USA had regained full strength. As the game progressed, it became more hectic as each team wanted to avoid overtime. The final seconds belonged to the Canadians, who vehemently sought a lucky punch. As no decision was made, the game went into overtime.
In overtime, Katherine Murphy scored the decisive 2:1 after a failed save by the Canadian goalkeeper, but victory was only confirmed after the video review.
All games of the Streethockey World Championship can also be watched on live stream at https://streethockeywc.asport.tv/.
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