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BEIJING — POWERED BY POULIN

It's any young hockey player's dream to score an Olympic gold-medal-winning goal for their country. Marie-Philip Poulin has now done it three times. The 30-year-old from Beauceville, Que., led sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ past the Americans 3-2 in the final with two goals and one assist. She put sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ ahead 3-0 off the rush with the eventual game-winner in the second period. The captain scored in a fourth straight Olympic final for sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ for a combined seven goals in those games. "We're happy to follow Pou wherever she's going to take us," said tournament MVP Brianne Jenner. Hilary Knight scored short-handed and Amanda Kessel scored a power-play goal for the U.S. with 12.5 seconds left in regulation, making for a tense finish. "Every medal is a different story. They're unique. This is a special one," Poulin said.

THOMPSON MAKES HER MOVE

It wasn't looking good for Marielle Thompson. The Canadian was dead last for most of the women's ski cross big final, unable to gain ground on her competitors as she sought to return to an Olympic podium for the first time in eight years. Thompson of Whistler, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, was still last heading into the fifth turn, when she closed the gap and made a move down the outside, passing Germany's Daniela Maier and Switzerland's Fanny Smith in the same motion. "In the final I really just stuck with it because a ski cross race isn't over until you're across the finish line," said Thompson. "So happy I stuck with it and really just focused on what I needed to do to do well." It was the Canadian's first medal since winning ski cross gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Pyeongchang silver medallist Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., won the small final to finish fifth. Courtney Hoffos of Windermere, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, was sixth and Ottawa's Hannah Schmidt was seventh.

GUSHUE TO PLAY FOR BRONZE

Brad Gushue and his Canadian rink will have to settle for playing for bronze after they lost to Sweden, 5-3 in the semifinals of men's Olympic curling tournament. Trailing just 4-3 entering the 10th and final end with the hammer, Gushue missed his final shot for the win that would've sent sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to the gold-medal game. Instead, Gushue will square off against John Shuster and his American rink for third place. Earlier, Jennifer Jones and the Canadian women's rink crashed out of the tournament despite winning their round-robin finale against Denmark. With a 5-4 record, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ needed other results to go its way. But losses by Russia, Japan and South Korea sent Jones packing on a tiebreaker. 

SHCHERBAKOVA WINS SURPRISING GOLD

Russia's Anna Shcherbakova won gold in the women's figure skating competition after a near-flawless free skate. The 17-year-old Shcherbakova was able to overcome her teammate Kamila Valieva, who was expected to win the event, after the 15-year-old fell twice to drop her from gold-medal position and into fourth place. Another Russian skater, Alexandra Trusova, took home silver after she vaulted up the rankings with a quad-packed free skate. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto won bronze. Valieva entered the women's individual competition immersed in controversy after it was discovered she tested positive for a banned substance. She helped the ROC win a gold medal at the start of the Games but her alleged indiscretion was discovered afterwards. She still faces an ongoing investigation into the positive test. Madeleine Schizas, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s lone representative in the women's competition, finished in 19th place. 

CAN CANADIANS UPSET EILEEN GU?

Another Olympic gold medal is Eileen Gu's for the taking. China's Gu recorded two top scores in the women's freeski halfpipe qualifier as she chases her third medal at the Beijing Olympics. But a trio of Canadians could have something to say about that. Rachael Karker of Erin, Ont., was second in qualifying behind Gu with a score of 89.50 "I think I did well," said Karker. "I'm super happy to make the finals and to put a good run down. I've definitely got a lot of adrenalin going." Defending champion Cassie Sharpe from Comox, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, was in sixth position. Sharpe is returning to form after tearing a ligament in her knee and fracturing her femur a little over a year ago. Calgary's Amy Fraser finished 11th in qualifying. Three Canadian men also qualified for their freeski halfpipe final. Calgary's Brendan Mackay was the top Canadian in fifth, ahead of Noah Bowman, also of Calgary, in sixth. Simon d’Artois from Whistler, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, placed eighth.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2022. 

The Canadian Press