Who else but Marie-Philip Poulin?

The big-time performer who has made a career of thriving on hockeyB次元官网网址檚 biggest stages did it again Thursday in Beijing, helping Canada reclaim Olympic womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey gold against its arch rival.

Poulin led Canada with two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist in a 3-2 win over the United States in the gold-medal game.

The Canadian captain scored in a fourth straight Olympic final.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just so good. ItB次元官网网址檚 a great feeling,B次元官网网址� Poulin said. B次元官网网址淚t was one hell of an effort.B次元官网网址�

The win in Beijing was especially sweet for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 13 returning players who felt heartbreak in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018, losing 3-2 to the U.S. in a shootout.

B次元官网网址淭his is redemption,B次元官网网址� Poulin said.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 fourth gold of the Games capped a dominant tournament for the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey team. The players rewrote the Olympic hockey record book in multiple categories in Beijing, starting with 57 tournament goals surpassing the 44 of their 2010 predecessors.

Claire Thompson, Sarah Nurse and tournament MVP Brianne Jenner put together strong individual performances.

B次元官网网址淭his group is very special,B次元官网网址� Poulin said. B次元官网网址淭his group has been putting the work in since 2018.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been having that motivation with that silver medal. But itB次元官网网址檚 teamwork, itB次元官网网址檚 one team B次元官网网址� from staff to players B次元官网网址� and it was huge today.B次元官网网址�

Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel scored for the Americans. Sarah Nurse contributed a goal and an assist for Canada, with goaltender Ann-Ren茅e Desbiens making 38 saves for the victory.

CANADA'S GAME 馃嚚馃嚘

B次元官网网址� Team Canada (@TeamCanada)

Canada believed they had opened the scoring 7:15 into the first period, with Natalie Spooner banging home a rebound. But the goal was waved off after an offside challenge.

Just 35 seconds later, Nurse redirected a shot home to give Canada a 1-0 lead.

Captain Poulin made it 2-0 later in the frame, with an unassisted goal off a long shot that eluded American netminder Alex Cavallini.

Poulin has seven goals in four Olympic final games and her second goal stood up as the winner. She also scored the winning goal in the 2010 and 2014 gold-medal games against the Americans. She is the only hockey player to ever score in four different Olympic gold-medal matches.

She added her second goal in the middle period to up CanadaB次元官网网址檚 lead to 3-0 before Knight scored a late short-handed goal to make it 3-1.

NEW RECORDS! 馃ぉ now has the most points (18) and most assists (13) in a single women's Olympics. |

B次元官网网址� Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada)

Nurse assisted on PoulinB次元官网网址檚 second goal and broke the Olympic record for points with 18. Longtime Canadian great Hayley Wickenheiser set the mark previous mark at 17 in 2006, which Poulin has now matched in Beijing.

In the third, Desbiens (who made 51 saves in a 4-2 round-robin win over the Americans) stood strong as Canada put the finishing touches on their gold-medal performance. With Poulin in the box serving a late penalty, Kessel scored with 12.5 seconds left to make it 3-2 but Canada was able to hang on.

Canada and the U.S. have met in five of the past six Olympic womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey finals.

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B次元官网网址� with a file from Black Press

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