USA women's hockey loses 3-2 to Canada, taking silver in Beijing

The U.S. women's hockey team was defeated 3-2 by Canada in the Winter Olympics final in Beijing on Thursday.

The loss marked the latest turn in what's become a rivalry for the ages. Since women's hockey was introduced at the Olympics in 1998, only the United States or Canada has come home with the gold.

Signs of the Canadian team's strength came early on Thursday, with a goal from Sarah Nurse in the first 8 minutes of play. Canada's Natalie Spooner had scored less than a moment earlier, but her goal was successfully challenged by the U.S., which said Canada had been offside.

Marie-Philip Poulin then scored just after the 15-minute mark, giving Canada a 2-0 lead to end the first period.

Nine minutes into the second period, Canada's Poulin again scored.

The first goal for the U.S. came a few moments before the end of the second period, with Hilary Knight netting her sixth in Beijing. With seconds to go in the third period, Amanda Kessel scored Team USA's second goal.

The game was the sixth time in seven Olympics that the U.S. women's hockey team faced Canada in a bid for Olympic gold. Canada now owns five golds, while the U.S. still has two.

The buildup to the final had been ferocious, with each team barreling through the competition. Canada went 6-0, giving up only eight goals while scoring an astounding 54.

The U.S., meanwhile, only lost one game throughout the tournament -- to Canada, 4-2.

Team USA took a hit early on in the Olympics when star forward Brianna Decker got knocked out of play with an on-ice injury.

But, as demonstrated by their continued success, the team was still stacked with power, including from captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, Abbey Roque, Kessel and Knight, returning for her fourth Olympics.

Knight, 32, led the U.S. in scoring going into Thursday's game, with five goals and four assists in Beijing.

"I am forever grateful to the women in this room. A very special group," Knight tweeted after the game on Thursday. "Our fans, Thank you all for cheering and believing in us. We’ll be back."

The goalie roster for the U.S. had also been showing their mettle this Olympics between Nicole Hensley, Alex Cavallini and Maddie Rooney. Four years ago in Pyeongchang, the gold medal match came down to goalies when it went to a shootout. Rooney saved Canada's lost shot then, giving America the gold.

On the Canadian side, the Americans squared off with captain Poulin, Claire Thompson and goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens. Canadian forward Brianne Jenner leads all goal scorers in the Olympics with nine, while teammate Sarah Fillier is second with eight goals. The top five assist leaders in the tournament were all on the Canadian team, led by overall scoring leader Nurse with 12 going into Thursday's game.

The Olympics are the most high-profile venue for women's hockey, which has faced struggles establishing more local groundwork. In the four years since the 2018 Olympics, the Canadian Women's Hockey League folded and the National Women's Hockey League rebranded to the Premier Hockey Federation. Athletes have long been calling for more funding and support both for a functional league with livable salaries and for building infrastructure for youth sport to grow a pipeline.

The U.S. women have at least one supporter who intimately understands those efforts: Billie Jean King voiced her support for Team USA to "win!" in a video posted by hockey veteran Angela Ruggiero on Wednesday.