Canada vows to learn from 7th consecutive loss to U.S., but time is running out

Brianne Jenner heaved a deep sigh when she was asked about American forward Abbey Murphy after her team’s 5-0 loss to the Americans.

Murphy drew four penalties and added three assists in her team’s win, the seventh straight time the Americans have defeated the Canadians dating back to last spring’s world championship.

“I think she’s a good player,” Jenner said.

The Canadians couldn’t solve Murphy in the Rivalry Series, where she put up eight points in four games, and they couldn’t solve her on Tuesday night inside the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

She’s part of an American attack that had too much real estate in front of Canada’s net.

On the other side, Canada failed to generate much meaningful activity beyond the perimeter. The Americans smothered nearly everything that came their way, and often transitioned the puck quickly back in the other direction.

"We just got down early and didn't find ways to make little plays," Canadian forward Sarah Nurse said. "I think we were really sloppy [with] our lines. I think that this ice surface here in Milan, we have to eliminate the neutral zone. I don’t think we did that today. We need to be better in our D-zone, be more creative and that will allow us to be more creative in the O-zone."

You can point to the absence of Canada’s captain and best player, Marie-Philip Poulin, who’s sidelined with a lower-body injury. You can point to the different ice dimensions, with a smaller neutral zone to navigate.

You can even blame Murphy and her propensity to embellish, which Canadian gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall described as “atrocious” on the CBC broadcast.

Whatever the answer is, the Canadians only have a few days to find it against an American team that's been learning and building since losing to Canada four years ago.

“You’ve got to either have success in those games or you’ve got to learn,” head coach Troy Ryan said. “When you learn, you learn a little bit about yourself, you learn about the opposition. But there’s no time for dropping the shoulders and hanging your heads. How you handle the end of that game is going to determine how things go in the Finland game. You've just got to be better in those situations as a group.”

American defender Caroline Harvey opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game.

Four years ago, she mostly sat on the bench at the Olympics. Now, the talented defender — who will be a star in the PWHL soon — is one of the most important players on this team.

Hannah Bilka added two goals, while Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards each scored one. Edwards made history as the first Black woman to score a goal for the U.S. at the Olympics.