Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Canada shuts down high-flying U.S. offense, will play for gold

CareyPriceParise

The U.S. was averaging five goals per game heading into the Olympic semifinals.

Against Canada, it couldn’t muster one.

That was the story at the Bolshoy Ice Dome on Friday as Carey Price stopped all 31 shots faced and Canada continued its stifling defense in a 1-0 win over the Americans, securing a berth in the gold medal game for the second consecutive Olympics.

“Our back-checking was excellent tonight, and our forecheck was good,” Price told CBC’s Elliotte Friedman following the game. “We tried to stay on the right side of the puck the whole night, and the effort was there.”

VIDEO: Highlights from Canada’s 1-0 win

Jamie Benn scored the game’s lone marker -- his second of the tournament -- early in the second period, deflecting home a Jay Bouwmeester slap-pass. The game-winner was one of the biggest of Benn’s career and made for a great story, as Benn is the lone player on the Canadian team that didn’t get invited to Hockey Canada’s Olympic orientation camp.

For the Americans, getting shut out was a disappointment given their scoring exploits thus far.

After blowing opponents away with a relentless offensive attack, the U.S. was stymied by Price and a determined group of Canadian skaters that have now allowed just three goals over the course of this tournament. The Phil Kessel-Joe Pavelski-James van Riemsdyk line, which combined for 18 points over the first four U.S. games, was held in check and the rest of the forwards struggled to pick up the slack -- the “Meat Line” of Dustin Brown, David Backes and Ryan Callahan, so successful in a quarterfinal win over the Czechs, failed to put a single shot on the Canadian goal.

VIDEO: Watch Jamie Benn’s goal

The U.S. also failed to convert on all three of its power play chances -- despite coming in with the third-ranked PP (27. 3 percent) -- though much of that had to do with Canada’s dogged determination on the penalty kill.

As the final score suggests, both goalies were great. Price was clutch in a 31-save shutout but Quick was just as good, if not better, in stopping 36 of 37 shots, including all 16 in a wild opening period that saw the teams trade chances throughout.

Looking ahead, Canada will now take on Sweden in the gold medal game, marking the first time a North American country will face a European one for gold since NHLers began Olympic participation in 1998.

The U.S. will take on Finland for bronze, looking to medal for the second straight Games and third in the last four.