Women's Hockey
2026 Olympic
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Canada's game on Thursday was supposed to be played on the first day of the women’s hockey tournament, but it was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak on the Finnish team. Piero Cruciatti / AFP via Getty Images
MILAN — Team Canada closed out its adversity-filled preliminary round at the Olympic women’s hockey tournament with a 5-0 win against Finland.
Thursday’s game was supposed to be played on the first day of the women’s hockey tournament (Feb. 5), but it was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak on the Finnish team. Four days later, Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin was injured against the Czech Republic and has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury since.
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Then came a 5-0 loss against their American rivals, their worst defeat at the Olympics since 1998 and the first time Canada has been shut out at the tournament. For all that’s been made about Canada taking a veteran roster to Milan, that kind of experience has been valuable as the team navigates a rocky start.
“A bunch of our locker room has already seen games and seen moments like this and have experienced things like this,” said rookie Jennifer Gardiner, who scored her first Olympic goal on Thursday. “For us that are new, yeah maybe it’s our first time seeing Pou go down, or being in a big loss to the U.S. But at the same time, I look to my left and my right and there’s (Natalie) Spooner (who’s been here before).”
Tuesday’s victory — with goals from four different players and a shutout for Ann-Renée Desbiens — could be the start of a turnaround for the Canadians, leading into the medal rounds.
“It felt like a huge bounce-back game for our team,” said Gardiner. “The medal round is a whole different ballgame. So we’re really excited about the direction we’re headed.”
As the second seed in Group A, Canada will play Germany on Saturday, with Poulin potentially nearing a return.
Canada coach Troy Ryan confirmed to The Athletic that Poulin skated on Tuesday morning with the team’s medical staff and goalie coach. Ryan said it was too early to officially rule Poulin in or out for the quarterfinals, but Canada has been optimistic she will return before the end of the tournament on Feb. 19.
It was fair to wonder if Team Canada would look to Emerance Maschmeyer against Finland after Desbiens was pulled against the U.S. on Tuesday night. She let in five goals against and has now allowed 14 goals against in her last three starts against the Americans.
But Canada went right back to Desbiens, showing confidence in its starter and giving her a chance to rebound against Finland.
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Ryan said the decision was made after conversations with their goalie coach, Brad Kirkwood, and assistant coach Kori Cheverie, who is Desbiens coach in the PWHL and expressed confidence in Desbien’s ability to bounce back.
“I don’t think it was like a bad, bad performance,” Ryan added. “She didn’t lay an egg or anything. It was just not up to the standard that we’ve grown to expect from her.”
Desbiens entered Tuesday’s game against the U.S. with a 7-0 career record at the Olympics and playing exceptionally well in the PWHL with a 6-1 record and .956 save percentage in January for the Montreal Victoire.
On Thursday afternoon, she wasn’t tested often in the first period, only needing to make four saves. But she really shined when Finland pressed in the second period, coming up with timely saves when the game was still in reach for the Finnish team early in the second period. Desbiens battled well and settled down the chaos with a few big saves, including a glove stop to freeze the play and give Canada a chance to win a faceoff and get out of the zone.
A few minutes after that glove save, Daryl Watts scored her second goal of the tournament to give Canada a 2-0 lead.
Desbiens finished the game with 17 saves on 17 shots for her second win of the tournament and her first shutout.
Jenner, wearing the “C” in Poulin’s absence, was elevated to the top line with Sarah Fillier and Daryl Watts.
Jenner, who is now 34 and playing in her fourth Olympics, is a good puck distributor and was able to get pucks out to Fillier and Watts — Canada’s most dynamic offensive players in Milan. Ryan also credited Jenner’s leadership — in a key bounce-back game for Canada — as a reason to elevate her in the lineup.
“She knows how to play in these moments,” he said.
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It was a tough 2024-25 season for Jenner, who failed to score at women’s worlds for the first time since she debuted for Canada at the 2012 world championships. But she’s looked much better this season, with eight goals and 15 points for the Ottawa Charge in the PWHL and a handful of assists in Milan.
“I had a really good offseason,” Jenner told The Athletic before the tournament. “I feel really good about some of the work I put in.”
Jenner said she put a huge focus on her skating and worked with a “great” power skating coach throughout the summer. She’s looked a step quicker in Milan, which is likely what afforded her the top-line opportunity.
It’s easy to forget — when Poulin scored the game winner and Sarah Nurse set the Olympic record — that it was Jenner who won MVP at the 2022 tournament in Beijing. In the four years since, Jenner has been adjusting to life as a mom — Jenner and her wife Hayleigh Cudmore have three children, including twins — and a professional hockey player.
“It’s the greatest joy of my life with the kids,” Jenner said. “But I don’t think it hurts that the twins are sleeping a little better.”
Jennifer Gardiner played only 2:24 in the first period, the second-fewest minutes among Canadian forwards on Thursday. And yet, it was Gardiner who broke Canada’s nearly 115-minute goalless drought with her first career Olympic goal.
It’s been surprising to see Gardiner used so sparingly for Canada after her strong debut at women’s world championships, where she scored six goals and 10 points on the top line beside Poulin and Laura Stacey. Head coach Troy Ryan has been reluctant to return to that trio, giving Julia Gosling and Emma Maltais looks beside Poulin before she was injured.
But, credit to Gardiner, she’s taken her role in stride and has been opportunistic in her minutes in Milan.
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“I mean, you kind of pinch yourself. I’m wearing the Canadian jersey at the Olympic Games. I never thought I’d be in these shoes,” Gardiner said. “So whether I play two minutes or I play 10 minutes, it really doesn’t matter. I’m just going to be the best teammate and the best I can be on the ice and do everything I can to help my team and my country win.”
Kristin O’Neill also found the back of the net for Canada, scoring her second goal of the tournament. She also got a few looks on the top line with Watts and Fillier to manage Jenner’s minutes early in the tournament.
“KO was as good as anybody on the ice tonight,” Ryan said. “Obvoiusly Watts and Filly were dynamic in their play — but I thought (O’Neill) was outstanding.”
As the game went on, Gardiner and Gosling also got more minutes, with Gosling adding two assists. In her first Olympics, Gosling now has five points in four games, which is tied for fifth in tournament scoring alongside three-time U.S. Olympian Alex Carpenter.
Canada has often relied on top-line scoring in international tournaments, which has largely come from Poulin and her linemates. Getting consistent five-on-five production from its fourth line will be key in a (projected) rematch against Team USA.
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Hailey Salvian is a staff writer for The Athletic covering women’s hockey and the NHL. Previously, she covered the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators and served as a general assignment reporter. Follow Hailey on Twitter @hailey_salvian
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