The Women’s Olympic hockey tournament was always leading to this game. Yet another gold medal showdown between Team Canada and Team USA. The teams battled it out in a round robin game that ended with the Canadians pulling out a tight 2-1 win, and I expect another close game in the gold medal showdown. Both Canada and the USA dispatched of their respective opponents by scores of 5-0 in the semifinals to easily set up this gold medal game.
The game will be played at 1pm local time, which translates to 11:10pm EST here in Canada. I haven’t been staying up for too many events in these Olympics, but this is one game that will definitely warrant the late night.
Canada vs USA Gold Medal Odds
Here are the odds for the game from our top rated betting site, SportsInteraction.com:
- Canada 2.18
- USA 1.60
The over/under is set at 5.5 with the under having odds of 1.39 and the over set at 2.88.
My Pick
It’s no secret that the American women have had Canada’s number since last Olympics. The Americans have beaten Canada in the past 3 World Championships, and also beat Canada in all three Four Nations Cups in that span. That’s 6 for 6 in big women’s hockey tournaments for the Americans since losing the gold to Canada in Sochi. The Americans are the deserved favourites in these finals.
That said, Canada likes to take it up a notch in their national program in Olympic years. They play more games and actually run training camps, while often living together in order to try to peak for the Olympics. By the sounds of it, the Americans treat it as any other year. This strategy has seemed to work well for Canadians in the Olympics, as they have won the past 4 Olympic gold medals and always seem to come through on the biggest stage.
Canada won the round robin game, but they were out-shot 45-23 in that game. That said, most of the lopsided shot totals came after Canada went up 2-0 in the game, so that stat may be skewed as Canada went into a bit of a defensive shell. Overall, I think getting that win in round robin is a great confidence boost for Team Canada considering the lack of success they have had against USA in the past few years. It should give them the belief that at the Olympics they always get the job done. Canada also beat the USA in the round robin in Sochi and went on to win the gold medal. In fact, the Canadian women have not lost an Olympic hockey game since 1998!
This game really could go either way, but I think you’re getting great value on the Canadians at odds of 2.18. If you checked out the Olympic hockey article I added pre-tournament the odds of Canada winning gold were set at 1.91, and now that they are actually at the gold medal game the odds have lengthened. That shows value, especially considering Team Canada has done nothing to lose confidence to this point in the tournament.
Even in a pick’em game I would be taking Team Canada. So at these odds I think it’s a great play.
Play: Team Canada 2.18
Tagged With : Olympics hockey • Women's Gold Medal Game • Women's Hockey