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Posted: Tues February 17, 1998 at 6:45 a.m EST United States 3, Canada 1 -------------------------Gretchen Ulion and Shelley Looney scored power-play goals as the United States defeated arch-rival Canada, 3-1, to win the first Olympic gold medal in women's hockey. After a scoreless first period, Ulion scored at 2:38 of the second, grabbing a loose puck and lifting a shot over the glove of Team Canada goalie Manon Rheaume. Looney made it 2-0 at 10:57 of the third, tapping in the rebound of a shot by Sandra Whyte. Canada's Danielle Goyette put Canada on the board with her tournament-leading eighth goal with 4:01 to play, scoring off a face-off just 10 seconds after Team \bUSA\b 's Tara Mounsey was penalized for body checking. With Canada pressing for the tying goal in the closing minutes, U.S. goaltender Sarah Tueting came up with a couple of key stops. Rheaume was pulled for an extra attacker with 54 seconds to play, but Canada was unable to mount an attack. Whyte, who assisted on the goals by Ulion and Looney, iced the win with an empty-net goal with eight seconds left, touching off a wild celebration by the American players. "I can't contain my energy," U.S. captain Cammi Granato said. "Sarah Tueting saved the game for us. Canada came out hard in the third and it was the right time for us to peak." Tueting stopped 21 of 22 shots, including eight of nine in the final period. "I'm sorry that we're not coming home with the gold, but we are coming back with the silver," said Canada captain Stacy Wilson. "It took us a while to get going tonight. The United States deserved the win." Canadian coach Shannon Miller was not as quick to applaud the efforts of the Americans, who took an 8-7 edge in the year-long series between the two teams. "It was really a 2-1 game," Miller said. "We played with seven injured players. We played with a lot of pain and with a lot of heart." The Americans defeated Canada, 7-4, Sunday, rallying with six unanswered goals in the third period of what was a meaningless game. Both teams had already clinched berths in the gold medal game, but the emotions of the rivalry were apparent. Nine bodychecking penalties were called in the game and Miller later accused Whyte of making a derogatory remark about the Goyette's recently deceased father. Whyte denied the accusation. The Unites States finished the first-ever Olympic women's hockey tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. Canada went 4-2.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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