BEIJING (AP) — Canadian ice hockey women won the top duel at the Winter Games in Beijing against 2018 Olympic champions USA 4:2 (1:0, 3:2, 0:0).

Brian Jenner (15th and 32nd), Jamie Lee Rattray (35th) and Marie-Philippe Paulin (38th/penalty) scored in a duel between the two top contenders for the gold medal. Dani Camarnassi (30′) and Alex Carpenter (32′) scored for USA.

By winning the prestige duel, the Canadian finished first in preliminary round Group A and thus secured the best starting position for the quarter-finals on Friday and Saturday. The women of Germany did not qualify for the Winter Games.

In the middle section, the game was temporarily controlled by only one referee as Canada’s Sienna Lifers received a bat in the face and the wound required stitches in the dressing room. The Lifars returned at the end of the second period, now supporting their compatriot Elizabeth Mantha.

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