UTICA, N.Y. – Over the past 12 days, players from 10 countries all over the world came to Utica to compete in the IIHF Women’s World Championship at the Adirondack Bank Center.
At the end of the 29th and final game of the tournament, it took one player who has spent the past five years living just 30 miles away to decide who came away from Utica with a gold medal.
Danielle Serdachny, who played her collegiate hockey career for Colgate University in Hamilton -- spending five seasons with the Raiders and serving as team captain for the past two -- scored the golden goal in overtime to end a wild contest and lift Canada over the United States for the world title, Sunday.
In front of a raucous crowd of 4,142 at the Adirondack Bank Center – a new building record, breaking the previous one set in the preliminary round contest between these teams just six days ago – the two biggest rivals on the ice squared off in a game that seemed to be inevitable to conclude the tournament.
It was the fourth straight year that the U.S. and Canada met in the gold medal game, 21st time in the last 22 years these sides squared off with a world title on the line.
With Serdachny’s goal, Canada got revenge on the U.S.—after the stars-and-stripes won gold over Canada in Brampton, Ontario last year—and put the neighbors to the North back on top with its record 13th gold medal at the Women’s World Championship.
From the opening faceoff, Canada held an early advantage. The more experienced Canadian side controlled the pace of play for the first few minutes, getting on the board 6:32 into the contest thanks to a shot from the point from Erin Ambrose.
With Team Canada striking first, loud “Can-a-da” cheers rung out, drowned out immediately by louder encouraging chants of “U-S-A.”
Team USA responded to that encouragement in a big way as Laila Edwards continued her hot stick with a huge goal less than two minutes later—her sixth of the tournament on ten shots—8:12 in to even things up and settle the defending gold medalists a bit. Kirsten Simms and Taylor Heise assisted on the equalizer.
Canada outshot the U.S. 13-6 in the first. Aerin Frankel was strong early on, stopping 12 shots, with the United States killing off a penalty in the latter stages of the frame to send the teams to the locker rooms still tied at one.
The stars-and-stripes seemed to come out with a bit more jump to start the second, but just 3:08 in, the tides turned again as Julia Gosling – cousin of actor and Saturday’s SNL host Ryan Gosling – snapped a shot from the face-off dot passed Frankel to give Canada its one-goal lead back at 2-1.
There was a bit of a lull from there for a few minutes, with a nervous energy from the heavily USA-favored crowd.
However, the United States kept pushing.
Then 10:10 into the middle frame, Megan Keller got the place rocking once again as she put a shot from inside the faceoff circle passed Ann-Renee Desbiens for her first of the tournament to knot the game back up at 2-2. Keller’s goal was assisted by Hannah Bilka and Abbey Murphy.
Team USA then took the momentum and skated with it. The hosts would take their first lead of the game 16:32 into the middle frame with Alex Carpenter scoring her sixth of the tournament, in the slot off a centering feed from Kendal Coyne Schofield. Britta Curl also assisted on the goal, and the Adirondack Bank Center was rocking.
However, that wouldn’t last long. Just 2:26 later, Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin would knot the game back up with her first of the tournament, unassisted, to even the game back up at 3-3.
In the third period, with Poulin in the penalty box, Captain America Hilary Knight – who broke Hayley Wickenheiser’s record with her 14th medal at the Women’s World Championship, Sunday – put Team USA back on top 8:56 into the final frame, sending a rebound off the end boards past a diving Desbiens. It was her fourth of the tournament, assisted by Caroline Harvey and Edwards.
Again, Team Canada would respond shortly after. This time with two straight, as Emily Clark pulled Canada even once again just 1:50 after Knight’s go-ahead goal. Then, less than two minutes later, at 12:19, Poulin jammed home a rebound in front for her second of the game to give the Canadians another lead at 5-4.
The seesaw continued though, as the United States would then respond with Harvey ripping a one-timer passed Desbiens off a centering dish from Lacey Eden to send Utica into a frenzy, knotting up the contest one more time at 5-5 with 5:02 remaining in regulation. The dramatic tying goal was Harvey’s second of the tournament, also assisted by Hayley Scamurra.
With no more goals the rest of the way, the teams would head to the locker room one final time for an ice cut as the record crowd in attendance caught their collective breath.
In overtime, Team USA was penalized with a too many players on the ice call, served by Kirsten Simms – overtime hero of Monday’s preliminary round game played between these teams.
With Simms looking on and the penalty winding down, Ambrose took a shot from the high slot that hit off Serdachny in front. The former Raiders standout then quickly sent a backhander past an outstretched Frankel 5:16 into the extra frame to end the stalemate and begin the gold medal celebration for Canada. Desbiens, who started the play with a breakout pass to Ambrose, earned the secondary assist on the golden goal.
Frankel finished the night with 19 saves for the United States, while Desbiens had 25 stops for Canada.
During the medal ceremony, fans who remained in the building again rung out in a loud “U-S-A” chant to show their appreciation for the thrilling ride the U.S. women’s national team took them on over the past couple of weeks.
With six thrilling wins, including an overtime victory over Canada in the preliminary round, and a final that came down to one shot, Team USA won over the hearts of the fans in Utica.
While it wasn’t the ending they were hoping for, there are a lot of positives to take away from a national program undergoing a youth movement that seems to be poised for many more gold medal runs moving forward.
Overall, it was the 12th silver medal for the United States in the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Team USA has still medaled in every tournament since it began in 1990. It’s also played in every gold medal game in the history of the tournament.
So ends an exciting couple of weeks in Utica, one that may not have wound up the way that fans in the community were hoping for, but that certainly gave everybody who came out to a game memories to last a lifetime.
Next year, the tournament moves back overseas as it will be hosted by Czechia from April 9-20, 2025.
Expect the United States to be back in the gold medal game competing for redemption in that one.
Due to broadcast rights restrictions, NEWSChannel 2 is unable to post highlights from news shows of games during the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship.
For postgame interviews from Wednesday's game, click on the video above
For Highlights courtesy of the IIHF and TSN, click on the video below
