@FlameRaptorRaven's rating of USA vs Canada

@FlameRaptorRaven rated the USA vs Canada game 8.9 out of 10 in IHO on February 19, 2026. Final score: USA 2 – Canada 1. Women's Gold Medal. Fan ratings and discussion on RateGame.

This was a great game and easily Canada’s best performance against the USA since the Rivalry Series last year. Although that is not saying much. To their genuine credit, I thought they played quite well in the beginning. They clearly took a more conservative approach with an emphasis on the counter and it worked, at first. That’s how they got their goal. Their penalty kill did a good job suppressing the USA powerplay and when the Americans made a mistake, they pounced and went up. While I will admit it worked through 2 periods, I never like when a team plays conservatively and goes into a shell while up 1 goal, because I always think “what happens if they lose that lead”? The USA gained more and more ground in the 3rd, Canada got sloppy and made more mistakes which led up to Hillary Knight scoring the tying goal and Keller with a nasty dangle to score the winner in OT. This one hurts, no doubt. My hope is this loss will finally send a message to Canada that something needs to change.

Rating published on February 19, 2026 by @FlameRaptorRaven.

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@FlameRaptorRaven

fanalyst
Watched
3mo
8.9
USA team logo2 : 1Canada team logo
IHO Women's Gold Medal02/19/2026
This was a great game and easily Canada’s best performance against the USA since the Rivalry Series last year. Although that is not saying much. To their genuine credit, I thought they played quite well in the beginning. They clearly took a more conservative approach with an emphasis on the counter and it worked, at first. That’s how they got their goal. Their penalty kill did a good job suppressing the USA powerplay and when the Americans made a mistake, they pounced and went up. While I will admit it worked through 2 periods, I never like when a team plays conservatively and goes into a shell while up 1 goal, because I always think “what happens if they lose that lead”? The USA gained more and more ground in the 3rd, Canada got sloppy and made more mistakes which led up to Hillary Knight scoring the tying goal and Keller with a nasty dangle to score the winner in OT. This one hurts, no doubt. My hope is this loss will finally send a message to Canada that something needs to change.
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