Team USA Sweeps 2025 Rivalry Series in Dominant Fashion

Courtesy of USA Hockey

The 2025 Rivalry Series continued last week as the final two contests were held at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. Team USA came into the second half of the Rivalry Series with a 2-0 lead over Team Canada, having won the previous two games by a combined score of 10-2. Canada made a few roster changes to give other players a trial run as these games are an evaluation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but they were also looking for a spark of offense and a stronger performance on the blueline. With women’s hockey returning to Edmonton for the first time since 2017, there was a lot of excitement in the air as the puck dropped on the last two 2025 Rivalry Series games.

Game 3- Team USA won 10-4

For game three of the series, and first in Edmonton, there was a big difference for Canada in net as Ann-Renee Desbiens got the start. It was her first appearance in the Rivalry Series this year and the hope was that she would be a more stable presence throughout these games. It didn’t take long for Team Canada to strike as Sarah Fillier found the back of the net just 48 seconds into the contest, but the U.S. quickly took over. Tessa Janecke, Abbey Murphy, Jesse Compher and Kendall Coyne Schofield all scored in the first period to give Team USA the 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The U.S. didn’t stop there. About halfway through the second, Britta Curl-Salemme scored to make it 5-1. Following that goal, Team Canada made a goaltender change, swapping Emerance Maschmeyer in for Desbien. Canada struck back with a goal from defender Sophie Jaques to cut the lead down to just three goals, before Kelly Pennek got another one in the net to make it 6-2 for the U.S. Canada scored twice more before the middle frame came to an end thanks to Julia Gosling and Jaques once again. 

The final 20 minutes started with the score being 6-4 in favor of Team USA, but Canada was within striking distance to tie the game and push for a victory. That is not what happened at all. Alex Carpenter, Pannek, Kirsten Simms and Murphy all scored for the U.S. in the third period, securing the dominant 10-4 win in game three. That victory also meant that Team USA won the Rivalry Series for the first time since 2019-20.

Game 4- Team USA won 4-1

With a chance to sweep the Rivalry Series for the very first time, Team USA came into game four looking for another win. This time the U.S. started Aerin Frankel instead of Gwyneth Philips, but Canada stuck with Desbien for the second straight game. This one had a very different feel from the last contest. The first period passed by without either team scoring a goal although there were plenty of good chances. But it was once again the U.S. who took control early as Caroline Harvey opened the scoring just under five minutes into the second period. Brianne Jenner tied the game up for Canada not long after, but Team USA was relentless as Laila Edwards found the back of the net to regain the lead. 

With the 2-1 lead going into the third, the game was still in each for Team Canada. However, like game three, it slipped away impossibly fast. Hilary Knight collected another goal to make it 3-1 and then with just over a minute left in regulation scored the empty netter to seal the 4-1 victory for the U.S. Team USA recorded the first ever sweep in the six iterations of the Rivalry Series and outscored Canada a whopping 24-7 in the four games. Taylor Heise finished the series with nine points (1G, 8A) in four games which was the most among all skaters and Murphy was right behind her with eight points (5G, 3A) and was tied with Knight for the most goals among all skaters.

The next time these two teams meet will be in the 2026 winter Olympics which will be held in Milano-Cortina, Italy in February. The women’s hockey tournament begins on February 5 and there will be plenty of decisions to be made between now and then for both teams to be ready to win gold.