Canada beats U.S. 3-2 in overtime to win gold in women's hockey

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Canada scored a goal during a 4-on-3 power play in overtime, giving them their fourth consecutive gold medal in women's ice hockey.

Trailing 0-2 in the third period, the Canadians scored two goals in the final 3:26 of regulation time to take the game to a sudden death 20-minute over time. Marie-Philip Pouli scored the winning goal at 8:10 of overtime, and was also responsible for the goal that took the game to overtime. Brianne Jenner scored Cananda's first goal, when her shot hit defender Kacey Bellamy in the knee and deflected into the net

The Americans came close to winning their game in regulation, when an American clearing hit the post in Canada's empty net. Meghan Duggan and Alex Carpenter gave the U.S. the lead, which they maintained until the last three minutes of regulation.

The Canadians have now claimed their fourth-straight gold medal in women's hockey, with three of those victories coming against the U.S. The Americans won the event in the 1998 Nagano Games, when women's hockey was first introduced.

[USAToday] [Bloomberg]