Record-setting Canadians the most dominant Olympic women's hockey team ever
Canadian women are the best in the world, and they have the Olympic gold medal to prove it.
But they also have a host of other nods, both individually and as a team, that certainly push the idea that the group assembled for the 2022 Beijing Olympics is the best women’s team ever.
✅ 2021 IIHF World Champions
✅ 2022 Olympic Champions pic.twitter.com/qTsfF7oT5y— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 17, 2022
The record book might just back that up.
For starters, Canada broke its own goal-scoring record at the Olympics, finding the back of the net an incredible 57 times over the course of the seven-game tournament. The previous Olympic goal-scoring record was 48, set by Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Canada scored at least four goals in every game they played, with one exception — a 3-2 win in the gold medal game against the United States. They hit double-digits in four of seven contests.
That scoring pace was helped by Brianne Jenner, whose nine goals tied an Olympics record. Jenner, naturally, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
JENNER HAT TRICK 🧢🧢🧢
Brianne Jenner makes it 10-0 for Canada pic.twitter.com/nxQK9mwsIu
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 11, 2022
Sarah Nurse, however, did set a new Olympic record she can lay claim to all her own.
Nurse, who was named to the Media All-Star Team, finished with a pair of records. She holds the mark for most assists in a single tournament at 13, and now holds the single-tournament points record at 18 — eclipsing past Canadian great Hayley Wickenheiser’s mark of 17.
SARAH NURSE 🚨 🇨🇦
After having a goal called off Canada wastes no time getting it back to take a 1-0 lead in the gold medal game
Watch on the CBC Sports app or @cbcgem pic.twitter.com/iZgiGhTdx6
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 17, 2022
She’s also the first Black player to win Olympic gold in women’s hockey.
Sarah Nurse is the first Black woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal and she broke the record for most points in the tournament and that's all I care about.
— Nicole Haase (@NicoleHaase) February 17, 2022
Claire Thompson set her own Olympic record, too.
Thompson, also was named to the Media All-Star Team, established a new mark for points by a defenceman in the tournament. She netted 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in the seven games. She was an impressive tournament-leading +23, too.
🇨🇦 Claire Thompson 🇨🇦
The Princeton alum opens the scoring for Canada against Switzerland 🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/lYFtjlt85F
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 14, 2022
Can’t forget Captain Clutch.
Marie-Philip Poulin became the first hockey player — male or female — to ever score in four separate Olympic gold-medal games. She has three golden game-winners in that span.
Captain Clutch with another GOLDEN GOAL for Canada at the Olympics 🥇
Marie-Philip Poulin made sure to point the spotlight on her teammates after the big win ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FpsWvDcyxN
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 17, 2022
She would’ve tied Wickenheiser’s records for most points in a tournament had Nurse not set a new mark in the gold-medal match, too.
The collective effort helped Canada to its first gold since 2014 after a silver finish four years ago at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
The Canadian women are now golden on five separate occasions, including 2002, 2006, and 2010.
“I’m so so proud of this group, from players to staff. We stayed united since 2018. It would have been easy to go our own way, but we put our head down, we went to work. It really showed today,” Poulin said in the CBC television interview after the game.
“We did it. We did it, and I’m very happy.”
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