Canada stuns U.S. women to win gold medal

Russia – For the fourth straight Winter Games, the Canadian women won Olympic hockey gold, this time with one of the most stunning rallies in the history of the sport. Marie-Philip Poulin, who earlier sparked a third-period rally for Canada, scored from the left circle past goalie Jessie Vetter with 11:50 left in overtime, giving Canada the 3-2 win, its 20th straight Olympic victory, its fourth straight gold medal and leaving their arch rivals Team USA stunned.Meanwhile, Jessie Vetter made 28 stops for the Americans, while captain Meghan Duggan and Alex Carpenter scored. Szabados kept the Canadians in it early with an 11-save first period, including key saves on an American power play two minutes into the game. One of her biggest saves came from a shot from the point from Anne Schleper that got through traffic and briefly bounced around the goal before controlling it.At the other end, Vetter wasn’t tested a whole lot, but she had to be sharp to stop Jennifer Wakefield after American defenceman Megan Bozek bobbled the puck in front of her net late in the period.Though Canada outshot the Americans 8-5, the second period featured a similar theme of the Americans controlling the play.And with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, they pulled even as Poulin – who scored both goals in the Canadians’ 2-0 gold medal win over the U.S. four years ago in Vancouver – lit the lamp. The game then went to overtime, which featured a series of penalties that left the Canadians with an eventual 5-on-3 advantage. At the 8:10 mark, Poulin struck again and zipped a quick shot into the net.The heroine of Vancouver became the heroine of Sochi.