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Canada edges U.S. in entertaining debut of Elite Women’s 3-on-3

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In the inaugural women's 3-on-3 tournament, Team Canada comes out on top against Team USA, 2-1, during the NHL All-Star Skills Competition in St. Louis.

Canada’s All-Stars beat the U.S. 2-1 in a strong debut for the Elite Women’s 3-on-3 event. The two teams provided a spirited game as part of Friday’s 2020 NHL All-Star Skills event.

Rebecca Johnston scored the lone goal of the first period to give Canada an early lead. Johnston scored just 1:20 into the contest:

Mélodie Daoust fattened Canada’s lead to 2-0 during the second period, a tally that would end up being the game-winner:

The U.S. didn’t just roll over, however. They pressed to get back into that game, with Hilary Knight scoring a nice one to make it 2-1.

''To be able to make history tonight and have a lot of fun doing it is a dream come true,’' Knight said. ''It was a great opportunity for everyone, a great opportunity for fans who aren’t introduced to women in the sport and also that young girl who is looking at the TV and can now see a women’s hockey player and aspire to be that.’'

''I think this shows how great of hockey players we are,’' U.S. forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said. ''You could see the skill, you could see the puck movement, the speed, etc. and for the NHL to allow us to have this platform to play the game we know we can play in front of so many people, it really shows the strides that this game is making and we’re making it together and collectively.’'

Both teams played a strong, competitive game, and saluted fans after the contest. You could argue that Ann-Renee Desbiens deserves the unofficial MVP, as the goalie made 18 saves.

Here are the full rosters and coaches from that great game. Hopefully this becomes a regular part of all future All-Star Games, not unlike the accuracy shooting and hardest shot competitions.

American All-Stars (Coach: Cammi Granato)
F Alex Carpenter
F Kendall Coyne Schofield
F Brianna Decker
F Amanda Kessel
F Hilary Knight
F Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson
F Annie Pankowski
D Kacey Bellamy
D Lee Stecklein
G Alex Rigsby Cavallini

Canadian All-Stars (Coach: Jayna Hefford)
F Meghan Agosta
F Mélodie Daoust
F Rebecca Johnston
F Sarah Nurse
F Marie-Philip Poulin
F Natalie Spooner
F Blayre Turnbull
D Renata Fast
D Laura Fortino
G Ann-Renée Desbiens

Referees Kelly Cooke and Katie Guay and lineswomen Kendall Hanley and Kirsten Welsh officiated the game.