ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE, Czechia — Team USA won the IIHF Women’s World Championship 4-3 in overtime against Team Canada on Sunday.
Penn State star forward Tessa Janecke scored the game-winning goal with just under three minutes left in the first overtime period in another thrilling edition of the cross-border rivalry.
After the first period ended 0-0, it seemed like this might be another tight contest between the top two teams in the world. But things got wild in the second period with four goals in less than three minutes. Team USA pulled ahead 2-0 in just 30 seconds, and Canada quickly drew even to halt the U.S. momentum.
Taylor Heise looked like she put the game away 3-2 in the third period, but Canada’s Sarah Fillier tied the game with five minutes remaining to set the stage for yet another overtime finale between Canada and the USA.
This is Team USA’s second world championship gold medal in three years, after winning in 2023.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
A wild second period
For a few minutes in the second period, it looked like we were due for another 6-5 overtime clash like last year’s finale in Utica, N.Y.
U.S. defender Caroline Harvey opened the scoring seven minutes into the frame, capitalizing on some mayhem in front of the net with a perfectly placed…
