Winter Olympics: USA women to face Canada in gold-medal match

The United States will face Canada in Thursday's women's ice hockey final as they look to win their first Olympic gold medal in the event for 20 years.

The American team thumped Finland 5-0 in the semi-finals, before Canada matched that result against the Olympic athletes from Russia. It will be the fourth successive time the North American neighbours have contested the gold-medal match. "It's honestly a dream come true," said USA forward Hilary Knight. "It's the world's biggest stage. It's the game you've been dreaming of. You have to keep working and do the things you do well." The superpowers of women's ice hockey have also dominated in the World Championships, meeting in every final since the competition began in 1990. Canada will be looking to win their fifth successive Olympic gold after beating the Americans in overtime in Sochi four years ago, while USA have had the better of the past three world finals. "We're confident. We'll stick with what has got us success the last three years," added American forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson. "We'll enjoy this. It's what we came here and worked hard for, to put ourselves in position for a gold medal." Dani Cameranesi scored twice for the USA against Finland, with Gigi Marvin, Lamoureux-Davidson and Knight also finding the net. Canada's Jennifer Wakefield netted twice in their victory, with Marie-Philip Poulin, Emily Clark and Rebecca Johnston completing the rout. "It's spectacular to see our team come out and perform that well because there was a lot of pressure," said USA coach Robb Stauber. "This was really a gold-medal preparation for us. We had to be ready." Courtesy: BBC