BEIJING (AP) 鈥� The last thing Cammi Granato and her U.S. women鈥檚 hockey teammates needed to see after a 10-hour bus ride through the Maritimes was arriving at their hotel and finding the Canadians staying at the same place.
It was bad enough the two heated rivals had to confront each other on ice. In those early days 鈥� the late 1990s and 2000s 鈥� of what鈥檚 developed into one of the world鈥檚 fiercest rivalries, the two sides were ready to drop their gloves when and where ever.
鈥淲e鈥檇 have like a four-game tour through say, Nova Scotia, and you鈥檙e on the bus and get to the hotel, same hotel as Canada, and we just played them the night before,鈥� Granato recalled. 鈥淭he elevator door opens and there鈥檚 five Canadians in it, and they鈥檙e looking at you like `You鈥檙e not getting on this elevator. And if you do, you鈥檙e not going to be very happy.'鈥�
Granato, the first women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and captain of the first women鈥檚 team to win a hockey gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, laughs at the memory now. And yet, hate is not too strong of a word to describe the steam-hot grudge the two teams had developed for each other.
鈥淥h, it was real. It was a real hate,鈥� Granato said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the team that is always standing in your way of what you want.鈥�
Gold has always been the goal, with the next chapter of when they meet in a Group A preliminary round game at the Beijing Olympics.
The Americans enter the tournament as defending champions after ending Canada鈥檚 four-Olympic championship run in dramatic flourish with a 3-2 shootout win in 2018. Monique Lamoureux-Morando scored to tie the game with 6:21 left in regulation, before her twin sister Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson sealed it in the shootout.
Canada, naturally, exacted a sliver of revenge in August by ending the Americans鈥� five-tournament run of world championship titles on in a 3-2 overtime win.
Now they prepare to gather at Wukesong Sports Centre for what is highly anticipated to be the first of two meetings between , with a rematch expected in the gold-medal game next week.
Four-time was already deflecting questions about the matchup following a 5-0 win over the Russian team on Saturday night by noting the Americans (2-0) must first place their focus on playing Switzerland the next day.
Canada, which faces the Russians on Monday, followed a 12-1 tournament-opening win over Switzerland with an 11-1 win over Finland.
The specter of the showdown, however, has loomed since the teams opened their pre-Olympic Rivalry Series at Allentown, Pennsylvania, in October.
鈥淵eah, you know what the best part is?鈥� U.S. captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said following a . 鈥淲e have them eight more times.鈥�
The nine-game series was cut to six games following a COVID-19 breakout hitting the Canadians. Canada finished with a 4-1-1 edge, with four games decided by one goal, including three in overtime.
Canada coach Troy Ryan was cautious in taking anything away from the results.
鈥淚f you look at the history of these events and look at the history of results at the Olympics, there鈥檚 no positive correlation often,鈥� he said.
All Ryan expects is the game to be close.
鈥淓very time I think or hear of Canada against U.S., I think 3-2. So many games end up in 3-2 scores,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou associate it with one of the best rivalries in all of sport.鈥�
For all the lore associated with Red Sox-Yankees, Lakers-Celtics, Michigan-Ohio State, each rivalry has endured cyclical ups and downs. What separates U.S.-Canada in women鈥檚 hockey is how even the two sides have been for so long.
Canada has the Olympic edge with a 5-3 record and winning four golds to America's two. At the world championships, the teams are 15-15 with Canada having won 11 titles to the U.S.'s nine. In all-time meetings dating to 1990, as compiled by Hockey Canada, the Canadians have won 71 games in regulation, 20 in overtime/shootout, lost 53 in regulation and 17 in overtime/shootout, and tied once.
The key is how both teams have pushed each other to be better to the point the two nations essentially dominate every tournament.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that we鈥檝e all been a part of that have played on those teams, and it just doesn鈥檛 go away,鈥� former Canadian star Jayna Hefford said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the games you want to play, and it鈥檚 the team you think about as you鈥檙e training because you want to play against the best. Those are the games you dream of.鈥�
To Granato, beating a lesser opponent by 10 goals is not as enjoyable as compared to entering a game not knowing the outcome.
鈥淭he best games were the 2-1 shootouts even if you won or lost,鈥� Granato said. 鈥淭he reason you play the game is to try and win. You don鈥檛 want to know the results before you step on the ice.鈥�
What鈥檚 changed over the years is a thawing of off-ice relations, with players on both sides of the border now working together to grow the sport as members of the Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey Players鈥� Association.
鈥淚 don't think you'll hear too many stories like that anymore since the players do interact so much more off the ice together,鈥� said Monique Lamoureux-Morando, referring to Granato's elevator story. 鈥淚nstead of the word hate, I would say passionate.鈥�
And yet, she will never forget her welcome-to-the-rivalry moment during a pre-2010 Olympics exhibition game in Victoria, British Columbia.
鈥淲e lost the game. I think it was 3-1 and there were seconds left, when I remember (Canada captain) Hayley Wickenheiser nailed Natalie Darwitz," said Lamoureux-Morando, who has since retired and made her TV broadcasting debut as an NBC hockey analyst this weekend.
"It was offside, and she hit her right after the whistle or during the whistle, depending on who you talk to,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was on the ice and mayhem ensued.鈥�
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John Wawrow, The Associated Press
