It was a historic night for the defending gold medal champs, the Canadian women’s hockey team. But it was nonetheless a nail-biter of a semi-final game as the veteran team beat Switzerland by a slim 2-1 score.
The sore and aching captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who was shipped to the Santagiulia Arena in Milan by golf cart, broke a Canadian Olympic record held by Hayley Wickenheiser with a two-goal outing. Her tallies proved to be just enough to beat the truculent Swiss.
The victory places Canada in their record eighth consecutive Olympic Women’s hockey finals, against their biggest rivals on Thursday against the U.S.
The tough semi-final against the Swiss raises concerns about whether the Canadians, led by Captain Clutch, can pull off a miracle.
The Americans are on a 5-game winning streak, all with high-margin wins and only one goal against them.
It was the second time Canadians met the Swiss on the ice for this competition. In the first round of preliminaries, the Canadians beat fast-paced Switzerland, 4-0.
The age difference between the two rosters is significant.
Switzerland has the youngest roster in the Women's hockey competition, with an average of 23 years, with 18 players born in the 2000s, including one of the youngest players to compete in the 2026 Olympics, Laure Mériguet, who is 17.
Canada's average age is 29 years. The Canadian veteran team has 16 players who are returning gold medallists from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The youngest Canadian player on the roster called up to make her Olympic debut is goaltender Kayle Osborne, 23, known as the oldest youngest player within the competition.
Age statistics and injuries were against the Canadians going into the semi-final round.
The defending gold medallists were determined and seeking redemption after the preliminary loss against the U.S.
Canada played a scoreless first period of the semi-finals, dominating the Swiss with 13 shots on target to one.
In the second period, the Canadians began to use the space given, creating more opportunities to take even more shots on net.
Captain Clutch's nickname still holds up, as Poulin's two record-breaking goals in seven minutes secured a place in the Olympic Games finals.
Poulin’s first goal, from the middle of the ice, was directed to the centre of the net. She received an assist from Sophie Jaques, and Poulin's shot deflected off a Swiss defender and glided into the net, leaving the Swiss goaltender, Andrea Braendli, unable to make the save.
Poulin tallied her second when she knocked in a rebound while falling to the ice surrounded by three Swiss guards. The goal followed a shot by Canadian Daryl Watts that deflected off Swiss goalie Braendli.
Poulin's 19th and 20th Olympic goals set her with the game's all-time scoring lead in women's hockey. The captain of 11 years has led the team to a silver medal in 2018 and a gold at the 2022 Olympic Games. Poulin’s voice is a constant within the team.
The Canadian loss in the preliminaries against the U.S. was not a complete shock, as the outcome in the 2025 Rivals Series was a lopsided scoreline with an overall 24-7 goals in four games.
The losses to their rivals in the series no doubt haunt the Canadians. But if there is one truth in these games, Team Canada is known to step it up when the games matter the most in the Olympics.
Poulin continues to play through the pain and remains the constant to motivate the team, while breaking records and preparing to compete in her fifth Olympic final.
Canadians have the opportunity to clean up on defensive areas that lacked in the preliminaries, and can incorporate captain Poulin into the starting line-up to defend the Canadian Olympic gold champion title.
That Thursday gold final is expected to be another nail-biter.
