Hilary Knight tallied a goal and an assist to help lift Team USA past Canada, 3-1, in the opening match of the 2023-24 Rivalry Series in Tempe last night at Mullett Arena.

Team USA scored two unanswered goals in the third period and goaltender Aerin Frankel kept Canada’s offense at bay with 35 saves on the night.

“Aerin was sharp and I really liked how we responded and learned some lessons, especially on that goal against,” said John Wroblewski, head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “I thought our special teams were solid and we had some awesome efforts from Hillary Knight once again.”

Midway through the first period, Abby Roque forced a turnover deep in Canada’s zone and directed the puck to Britta Curl as she came down from the slot. Curl fired a shot but was denied by Canada’s goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer.

Team USA then received a pair of back-to-back power-play opportunities but were unsuccessful on the advantage. Frankel stunned Canada with a glove save on a shorthanded two-on-one to keep the game scoreless.

Fresh off its first penalty kill of the night, Team USA took a one goal lead when Knight found the back of the net with eight seconds remaining in the first period. Abby Murphy drove hard into Canada’s zone and put a shot on net for Knight to collect as she came down from the slot and slipped the puck past Maschmeyer on her backhand.

Brianne Jenner got Canada on the board at 12:32 in the second period to tie the score 1-1 after she capitalized on a rebound.

Taylor Heise found the back of the net at 4:28 in the final frame to give Team USA a 2-1 lead. Rory Guilday fired a shot from the point and created a rebound for Knight on the edge of the crease. She fed a no-look pass across the crease, catching the goaltender off guard and leaving Heise with an empty net.

With 1:20 remaining in the third period, Lacey Eden chipped the puck for Alex Carpenter in the neutral zone for her to muscle past Canada’s defense before lifting a backhand shot over the shoulder of Maschmeyer to seal a 3-1 victory for Team USA.

The Rivalry Series will continue on Saturday, Nov. 11, when the U.S. takes on Canada at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. ET on NHL Network.

Photo/Asher Kerr/USA Hockey

(November 9, 2023)