HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka and Kelly Pannek scored in a shootout, goalie Gwyneth Philips was perfect in the tiebreaker and the United States beat Canada 2-1 on Thursday night to set up a decisive Game 5 in the Rivalry Series.
The deciding game in the women’s hockey series is Saturday night in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
With Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin off for tripping, Knight opened the scoring for the United States at 8:13 of the first period. Blayre Turnbull tied it with 2:20 left in regulation.
Philips made 31 saves in regulation and overtime.
Knight opened the shootout by beating Ann-Renée Desbiens to the glove side with a low wrist shot. Bilka slipped a backhander through Desbiens’ legs on the Americans’ third attempt, and Pannek scored on a high shot on the fourth to end it.
Taylor Heise was the only one of the four American shooters to miss. Brianne Jenner, Poulin and Jamie Lee Rattray failed on their shootout attempts for Canada.
The United States opened the series Nov. 6 with a 7-2 victory in San Jose, California. Canada took the next two games, winning 5-4 in a shootout in Salt Lake City on Nov. 8 and 4-1 in Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 10.
While fans at some NHL and NBA games in Canada have booed the American anthem over the past week, there was no audible booing during the anthem at Scotiabank Centre.
