Copyright The Boston Globe
“Any time we put on our country’s jerseys, we don’t like each other,” said Team USA and Boston Fleet defender Megan Keller. “It’s going to be a bloodbath, especially these Rivalry Series games. You know, it’s not Olympic gold medal time right now, but it’s kind of how it feels when you’re out there.” They will also face off in Buffalo on Saturday (6 p.m.) and then twice in Edmonton (9 p.m. on Dec. 10 and 13). All games are on NHL Network. The four-game, binational set will help solidify both rosters for the Winter Games. Teams will be revealed in late December or early January. The opening ceremonies are Feb. 6. This is a first look at the two most powerful women’s programs on the planet. These are quadrennial favorites for gold and silver, in some order. Thursday will be their 193rd meeting since the first IIHF Women’s World Championships in 1990. The Canadians have won 108 of those games, the Americans 83. The United States has taken three of its last four, most recently in April at the Worlds in Czechia. Tessa Janecke scored the golden goal in overtime. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Marie-Philip Poulin scored the winner for Canada, as she did at the Games in 2010 and 2014 (as well as the 2021 Worlds). Canada has won gold in five of seven Olympic women’s hockey tournaments, and the teams have met in six of seven finals. The U.S. won in 1998 and 2018. What to watch for at the Rivalry Series: At forward, the top three lines appear to be set. Alex Carpenter will center Tessa Janecke and Hilary Knight. Kelly Pannek will ride with Hannah Bilka and Abbey Murphy. Taylor Heise skates in the middle of Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kirsten Simms. The competition for fourth-line roles include centers Gabbie Hughes and Britta Curl-Salemme; and wingers Jesse Compher, Grace Zumwinkle, Lacey Eden, Hayley Scamurra, Joy Dunne and Casey O’Brien. The latter, who has roots in Milton and Martha’s Vineyard, did not practice Wednesday and won’t play Thursday for an unspecified reason. The Americans could roll with a top six on defense of Caroline Harvey and Cayla Barnes, Megan Keller and Laila Edwards, Lee Stecklein and Fleet first-round pick Haley Winn. The extra spot could go to one of Anna Wilgren, Savannah Harmon, Rory Guilday or Emma Peschel. Aerin Frankel, the Fleet’s Green Monster, will start Thursday for the United States. Head coach John Wroblewski didn’t commit to a starter for Saturday’s game, but he could tap Gwyneth Phillips (like Frankel, a Northeastern alum). Cleveland Heights’ own Laila Edwards was popular this week with fans who attended a community event, and the fact she was here was a relief for the Americans. Playing for Wisconsin, Edwards injured her left knee in an Oct. 11 game, and missed the next five. “It’s going to be one of the most emotional games I’ve ever been a part of,” said Edwards, who expects nearly 200 friends and family to attend … The Buffalo game is a homecoming for Northeastern product Hayley Scamurra, who grew up in Williamsville, N.Y. … A slew of Americans have Boston connections: including Caroline Harvey (raised in Groton, Pelham, N.H. and Salem, N.H.); former Fleet captain Hilary Knight and winger Hannah Bilka (also played at Boston College), who now play for PWHL Seattle with Alex Carpenter (North Reading and BC); BC grad Megan Keller; and Northeastern alums Aerin Frankel, Gwyneth Phillips, Hayley Scamurra and Kendall Coyne Schofield. The only Canadians with Boston ties are Marie-Philip Poulin, a Boston University Hall of Famer, goalie Emerance Maschmeyer (Harvard) and forward Daryl Watts (BC) … Knight, 36, has said this will be her final Olympiad. It will be her fifth, more than any other American hockey player (female or male). A medal of any kind would tie the international record (five). “I’m just taking it all in,” she said. “And I think the hockey piece is going to take care of itself.” … PWHL camps open Friday. International players will return to their pro teams next week.
