There could not have been a more poetic way for Hilary Knight to score her 100th point for Team USA.
The hat trick helped, too.
With less than four minutes remaining in the final of the 2023 women’s world championship against rival Canada, Knight reared a slap shot from the top of the slot that snuck past netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens. The goal moved the U.S. women’s hockey team ahead of Canada for the first time, and the Americans poured in two more goals over the final 3:10 to win gold 6-3 in Brampton, Ontario, their first major tournament (world championships or Olympics) victory since 2019.
The U.S. tied the game on three occasions without taking the lead, until Knight’s clutch goal that came with a two-skater advantage. She earned her hat trick 27 seconds later with the U.S. on the power play, and Cayla Barnes added an empty netter with 1:58 remaining.
For Knight, it was her third game-winner in a women’s world championship contest (2011, 2017).
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For the U.S., the victory provided revenge over Canada, which had won the last three world championships dating to 2021 and won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, defeating the U.S. in that final. There wasn’t a world championships in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caroline Harvey, the youngest player on the 2022 Olympic squad, equalized the game at three in the third period by creeping from the left point to the slot and firing in a wrister. It was Harvey’s fourth goal of the tournament, in which she led all skaters with 14 points total, one ahead of Finland’s Petra Nieminen. Knight finished tied for third with teammate Taylor Heise (12 points apiece).
Harvey, who was essentially being benched for the medal rounds in Beijing, topped all U.S. skaters in ice time on Sunday (23:35).
The preliminary matchup between the two teams in the first round went to a shootout that took nine rounds to decide a winner, with Canada besting the U.S.
A similarly even matchup ensued in the final, with Canada taking the lead on a 5-on-3 goal by Marie-Philip Poulin. Abbey Murphy drew the U.S. even with a drag move on a fast break that beat Desbiens (16 saves).
U.S. goaltender Aerin Frankel saved 24 shots on 27 attempts.
Knight finished with seven shots on goal in 21:21 ice time. Amanda Kessel (two assists) provided the nifty feed for Knight to score her first goal of the game between a pair of second-period tallies for Canadian forward Brianne Jenner, who gave Canada 2-1 and 3-2 leads, respectively.
The U.S. led when the final horn blew, however, finishing the championships with 43 total goals and a shiny new championship.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.