OT blunder costs Canada gold medal at Women's World Hockey Championship
The game of hockey can be a cruel one, and the Canadian National Women’s team found that out on Easter Sunday.
Canada was playing for the gold medal at the 2025 Women’s World Hockey Championship against their arch-rival United States. The Canadians came into the game having won gold in three of the last four iterations of the tournament.
While they were able to erase a 2-0 deficit and force the United States into a winner-take-all overtime, it was an unfortunate mistake by the Canadians that cost them the gold medal.
Wow what a blunder by Canada in overtime. Miscommunication leads to USA’s game winner. #WomensWorlds
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 20, 2025
Canadian defender Jocelyne Larocque had complete control of the puck behind her net just moments before the U.S. winner. She tried to play the puck up the left side of the ice to Sarah Fillier, who, unbeknownst to Larocque, was going off for a change.
This turned the puck over to American forward Taylor Heise, who connected with Tessa Janecke on a perfect pass to score the golden goal past Canadian netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens.
It’s a heartbreaking way to lose a championship, especially with the Canadians having battled back from a multi-goal deficit to force OT. It’s also a reminder of how important every play is in big games.
The loss means that the Americans are back on top of the hockey world on the women’s side. This is the 11th gold medal for the United States, which ranks second behind Canada’s 13. For the Canadians, this is the 10th time that they’ve had to settle for silver at the tournament.
Since the tournament’s inception back in 1990, all but one of the championship games have been between Canada and the United States.