BEIJING (AP) — There will be no gold medal for the U.S. women's hockey team, and no medal of any kind for Mikael Shiffrin at the Beijing Olympics.
Canada claimed its fifth gold medal in seven women's Olympic hockey tournaments by defeating the United States, 3-2 in the final. Marie-Philip Poulin (poo-LAN') scored twice and assisted on Sarah Nurse’s goal to add another chapter to her legacy as “Captain Clutch” for Canada. Ann-Renee Desbiens made 38 saves as the Canadians forced the Americans to settle for a silver medal for the fourth time.
Shiffrin skied out in the Alpine combined and once again was unable to finish a race at Beijing. She will leave the Games without an individual medal after participating in all five women’s events. Shiffrin also failed to complete three races.
Shiffrin was fifth-fastest in the downhill portion of the two-run combined this morning but went out without making it to the bottom in the slalom leg in the afternoon.
In other Olympic news:
— American John Shuster and the defending Olympic curling champions won a last-chance match to qualify for the playoffs by beating Denmark 7-5. The Americans will play Britain in the semifinals Thursday night.
— China’s Eileen Gu recorded the top score not once but twice in a competitive ski halfpipe qualifier as she chases her third medal. The standout American-born freestyle skier is bidding to become the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. Gu played it safe in the first of her two runs and still scored a 93.75. Hardly content, she went even bigger on her final run and scored a 95.50.
— International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif says he’s optimistic NHL players will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, though he wants an agreement reached further in advance than this time around. A deal for the Beijing Games wasn’t announced until September. The NHL withdrew in late December after the omicron variant-fueled wave of the coronavirus pandemic caused mass postponements of games.
— Olympic champions Martin Fourcade and Frida Hansdotter have been elected by athletes at the Beijing Games to represent them as members of the International Olympic Committee.