It’s the final we were all hoping for from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, so here’s our Canada v USA Women’s Ice Hockey gold medal picks.
The two sides both secured their place in the final with comprehensive semi-final wins on Monday. Canada thrashed Switzerland 10-3, while the USA saw off Finland with a 4-1 win.
In both reaching the final, theyhave also ensured their remarkable record of being the only two nations to have ever won gold in this event continues until 2026 at the earliest.
- Event; Women’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Match – Canada v the USA
- Where; Wukesong Sports Centre, Beijing, China
- When; Wednesday, February 16th, 2022
- Time; 11.10pm ET Team
Canada; The route to the final
Canada and the USA are by far the two strongest teams in the competition. They would have both expected to reach this final. Anything less would have been an almighty shock.
Team Canada is unbeaten at this Olympics. I saw one report describing their wins as bloodbaths, and it’s hard to disagree with that.
Canada’s Sarah Nurse is quoted as saying
“We’re taking the game to new heights right now. I know that people look at the scores and again think that we just dominate teams, but I think that what we’re doing on the ice right now is we’re pushing the pace for women’s hockey.”
Here are the Canadian womens’ team results.
Preliminary Round
- Canada 12-1 Switzerland
- Canada 11-1 Finland
- Canada 6-1 ROC
- Canada 4-2 USA
The four wins from four saw Canada top the group with maximum points. They scored 33 and conceded just 5. This saw Canada finish the preliminaries ranked 1.
So, we’re assuming the playoffs will be tougher for the Canadians, right?
- Canada 11-0 Sweden (quarter-final)
- Canada 10-3 Switzerland (semi-final)
Would it be flippant to say conceding three in the semi-final was very un-Canada-like?
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Team USA; The route to the final
The American girls have been dominant, but not to the standards of the Canadians. In their opening preliminary, they beat Finland 5-2. They then kept clean sheets while defeating the ROC and Switzerland.
In the final group match against Team Canada, they came off second best.
Preliminary Round Results
- USA 5-2 Finland
- USA 5-0 ROC
- USA 8-0 Switzerland
- USA 2-4 Canada
In the playoffs, the USA was 1-1 with the Czech Republic at the end of the 2nd period. Other than the defeat to Canada, this is the most pressure they’ve been under in Beijing. They did take the 3rd period 3-0, to run out overall 4-1.
In the semi-final, they were fairly comfortable in defeating the Fins.
- USA 4-1 Czech Republic (quarter-final)
- USA 4-1 Finland (semi-final)
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Canada v USA Betting and How to Bet on the Final.
The three main markets in Ice Hockey Betting are the Moneyline, Handicap, and the Total Points. The Moneyline is a straight bet on who will win. In the case of the handicap, in this match, the USA team has 1.5 goals start.
While in the Total Points market, this is the combined goals scored in the match by both teams. Here the spread is 5.5 goals, so if the match finished 4-2, it would be over 5.5 goals, as six goals will have been scored.
Moneyline
- Canada 1.45
- USA 2.70
Handicap
- Canada -1.5 Goals 2.30
- USA +1.5 Goals 1.62
Total Points @ 5.5
- Over 2.35
- Under 1.60
Our Olympics Sports Betting page goes into more detail about how these markets work.
Canada v USA Gold Medal Match Betting Picks
I’m going for all three markets in my betting picks, starting with the Moneyline. Quite simply, I think Canada will win. They have been the stronger side throughout the competition, and it will take a major performance by the USA to stop them from regaining the gold.
Team USA is the current holder, but I think it is a temporary arrangement, and I’m going for Canada to win on the Moneyline.
In the handicap market, I’m also finding it difficult to make a case for the USA. They are just 1.62 with a 1.5 point start.
I expect Canada to win, so it’s a bit daft for me to pick the USA at those short odds. Assuming I’m correct with my view that the Canadians win, I would need them to win by just one goal for a handicap bet on the USA to win.
Therefore I’m going for the Canucks to win by 2 points or more. So Canada is my pick on the handicap.
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Finally, the total points market. I am a bit torn on this one. In the preliminary round, the score was 4-2, so over 5.5 would have won.
With this final probably going to be a more nervy affair, might it be a tighter game with fewer goals? Possibly, but in every single Canadian game at this Olympics, over 5.5 has been beaten.
It is also the better value bet at 2.35. So for my final betting pick, I’m going for over 5.5 goals in the women’s Olympic Ice Hockey gold medal match.
Please check out our best Sportsbooks Reviews 2022 page for the latest betting offers that can be used on the Beijing Winter Olympics.
