🇺🇸 United States 4-1 Canada 🇨🇦
Rivalry Series, Game 1
XL Center, Hartford 🇺🇸
Saturday, 14 December 2019

Led by a 31-save performance from Alex Cavallini (née Rigsby) and multi-point efforts from Alex Carpenter, Amanda Kessel and Kelly Pannek, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Canada, 4-1, tonight in game one of the 2019-20 Rivalry Series at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The contest was part of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Team USA Winter Champions.

“I thought everybody played well and we played at a high compete level tonight,” said head coach Bob Corkum. “We managed the puck much better than we did in Pittsburgh. It was a great environment here in Hartford and we’re thankful to all the fans who came out and supported us.”

Team USA will face Canada in the second game of the five-game series Tuesday at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Team Canada took a 1-0 lead 6:45 into the opening frame off the stick of Victoria Bach, but the U.S. tied the game just two minutes the later on the power play after Annie Pankowski fed a pass through the crease to Megan Keller wristed the puck past Canadian goaltender Geneviève Lacasse.

Team USA gained a 2-1 advantage in the final moments of the middle frame when Kessel completed a tic-tac-toe play from Carpenter and Pannek and buried a close-range shot past Lacasse to give the U.S. its second power-play tally of the night.

In her U.S. Women’s National Team debut, Abby Roque notched her first career goal 2:49 into the final stanza after picking up a rebound from Lee Stecklein and backhanded a shot high over Lacasse’s shoulder to extend Team USA’s lead to 3-1.

Carpenter put away a rebound from Pannek moments later to secure a 4-1 win for the United States.

Cavallini picked up the win, stopping 31 of 32 Canada shots on goal.

NOTES: Cavallini was named the U.S. Player of the Game…Nine skaters recorded points in the victory…Team USA was 2-for-6 on the power play while Canada was 1-for-2.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
05:01 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Coyne, hooking
06:45 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – Bach (Bourbonnais, Daoust)
07:57 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Curl, slashing
07:57 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Gabel, cross checking
07:57 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Saulnier, slashing
08:56 – 🇺🇸 PP GOAL – Keller (Pankowski, Matheson)
10:46 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Turnbull, body checking

2nd Period
27:24 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Bellamy, interference
37:20 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Barnes, roughing
37:20 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Gabel, roughing
37:20 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Daoust, roughing
38:38 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Mikkelson, hooking
38:52 – 🇺🇸 PP2 GOAL – Kessel (Pannek, Carpenter)

3rd Period
42:49 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Roque (Curl, Stecklein)
44:04 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Carpenter (Kessel, Pannek)
59:41 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Keller, roughing

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇺🇸 Rigsby (31-32)
L: 🇨🇦 Lacasse (27-31)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇺🇸 7+9+15 = 31
🇨🇦 7+15+10 = 32

ROSTERS
🇺🇸 Goaltenders: Alex Rigsby, Maddie Rooney. Defence: Cayla Barnes, Kacey Bellamy (A), Megan Bozek, Megan Keller, Emily Matheson, Lee Stecklein. Forwards: Sydney Brodt, Kelly Browne, Dani Cameranesi, Alex Carpenter, Jesse Compher, Kendall Coyne (C), Britta Curl, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight (A), Annie Pankowski, Kelly Pannek, Abby Roque.
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Geneviève Lacasse, Emerance Maschmeyer. Defence: Jaime Bourbonnais, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Jocelyne Larocque (A), Meaghan Mikkelson, Lauriane Rougeau, Micah Zandee-Hart. Forwards: Meghan Agosta, Victoria Bach, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Emily Clark, Mélodie Daoust, Loren Gabel, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin (C), Jillian Saulnier, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull (A).

Article Credit: USA Hockey
Photo Credit: CBC – IIHF – HHOF – IOC