Danielle Serdachny scored with 2:44 left in overtime to lift Team Canada past Team USA in Game 5 of the 2022-23 Rivalry Series on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The 21-year-old Serdachny, making just her second national team start, gave Canada a 3-2 win and cut the U.S. lead to 3-2 in the seven-game series.
Also scoring for Canada was 28-year-old Laura Stacey and 22-year-old Sarah Fillier, both of whom recorded their first goals of the series. Ella Shelton and Emily Clarke recorded assists on Stacey’s goal, with Brianne Jenner and Marie-Philip Poulin assisting on Fillier’s tally. Emerance Maschmeyer made 32 saves in net.
“Honestly, I just jumped off the bench,” Stacey told the NHL Network following her goal. “Ella had the puck in the middle and I kinda saw a free lane and she made the perfect pass on my stick. I don’t know what I saw, to be honest, but I just tried to kind of get in the way of the defense been there — I think it was (Megan) Keller — and put it on net and good things happen, I guess.”
Fillier’s goal with 2:54 left in the second ended a power-play drought for Canadians, who had gone scoreless in 16 previous opportunities in the series. Poulin’s assist marked career point No. 199 for the team captain, who was recently inducted into Boston University’s Hall of Fame. Earlier this month, Poulin became the first female hockey player to be named Canada’s Athlete of the Year, and she now stands fifth on the Canadian women’s all-time scorer list.
The Americans opened the scoring in first when 23-year-old Cayla Barnes – the only member of the U.S. roster who is from Southern California (Eastvale, Calif.) – scored her first goal in her second appearance in the series. The goal, assisted by Amanda Kessel and Kendall Coyne Schofield, unleashed an epic teddy-bear toss, with the stuffed animals gathered as donations to the Salvation Army.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Barnes, who plays college hockey for Boston. “You know, family and friends are here. And just to get that first one in early is incredible.”
“It’s awesome to see the young fanbase here,” added Barnes, who played her 14U hockey for the Los Angeles Kings Jr. Kings. “I didn’t have that visibility when I was younger, so just for them to be able to see us play here and see that they can do it is just an awesome experience for them.”
Also scoring her first goal in the series for the U.S. was 22-year-old Taylor Heise, who tied the game at 2-2 in the third. The University of Minnesota forward was the leading scorer in the NCAA with 34 points, earning her the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The Rivalry Series continues in February, with the final two games being played on Canadian ice. Host cites will be announced in early 2023.
2022-23 Rivalry Series schedule, results
| DATE | TIME/RESULT | LOCATION | NETWORK |
| Tuesday, Nov. 15 | USA 4, CAN 3 (SO) | Kelowna, British Columbia | NHL Network |
| Thursday, Nov. 17 | USA 2, CAN 1 | Kamloops, British Columbia | NHL Network |
| Sunday, Nov. 20 | USA 4, CAN 2 | Seattle, Washington | NHL Network |
| Thursday, Dec. 15 | CAN 3, USA 2 | Henderson, Nevada | NHL Network |
| Monday, Dec. 19 | CAN 3, USA 2 (OT) | Los Angeles, California | NHL Network |
| February (date TBD) | TBD | Canada (city TBD) | NHL Network |
| February (date TBD) | TBD | Canada (city TBD) | NHL Network |
Who’s playing in the December Rivalry Series games?
TEAM USA
The December roster returns 19 players from the 2022 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team that captured silver in Beijing in February. Those returners include Cayla Barnes, Hannah Brandt, Alex Carpenter, Jesse Compher, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Jincy Dunne, Savannah Harmon, Caroline Harvey, Nicole Hensley, Megan Keller, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Maddie Rooney, Abby Roque, Hayley Scamurra, Lee Stecklein and Grace Zumwinkle.
All 23 players that represented the U.S. at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Herning, Denmark, are on December’s roster, as are 11 players from the 2018 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team that won gold in PyeongChang, where they beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout. Those players include Barnes, Brandt, Coyne Schofield, Kali Flanagan, Hensley, Keller, Kessel, Knight, Pannek, Rooney and Stecklein. Rounding out the roster are 2022 Olympian Abbey Murphy and 18-year-old Tessa Janecke, the youngest player on the U.S. roster who is made her national team debut last Friday.
TEAM CANADA
The Canadians’ December roster features 16 players who won gold medals at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship and 2022 Olympic Winter Games: Ashton Bell, Kristen Campbell, Emily Clark, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Sarah Fillier, Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque, Emerance Maschmeyer, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Jamie Lee Rattray, Ella Shelton, Laura Stacey, Blayre Turnbull and Micah Zandee-Hart. Two-time Olympian Jill Saulnier returned to the lineup, with Julia Gosling making her first international appearance in more than a year. Two players made their national team debut this month — Megan Carter and Danielle Serdachny.
What is the Rivalry Series?
The Rivalry Series, introduced by USA Hockey and Hockey Canada during the 2018-19 season, is designed as an annual showcase of the highest level of women’s hockey at various locations in the United States and Canada. The first series comprised three games between the two national teams, with Canada winning 2-1. Team USA took 2019-20 title, winning the expanded five-game series 4-1 and wrapping with an overtime win in the finale in front of a then-record-breaking total of 13,320 fans in Anaheim, California.
Following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic and preparation for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, the Rivalry Series resumed this season with seven games over three months: three in November, two in December and two in February. Game 3 on Nov. 20, 2022, set a new U.S. attendance record as 14,551 fans turned out to see Team USA beat Canada 4-2, at Climate Pledge Arena.
2022-23 Rivalry Series rewind: USA holds 3-1 series lead
Game 1, Nov. 15: USA 4, CAN 3, SO — The seven-game series kicked off last month with Team USA grabbing a 2-0 lead off goals from Hannah Brandt and Hilary Knight. But Canada battled back with three unanswered goals and held a 3-2 lead with 13 minutes to go in the third. With just 1:29 remaining in regulation, Alex Carpenter tied it for the Americans, sending the game to overtime. The U.S. ultimately won in a shootout, with Knight and Carpenter scoring while U.S. goalie Nicole Hensley made two key saves. Series score: USA leads 1-0.
Game 2, Nov. 17: USA 2, CAN 1 — Canada was first to get on the board when Marie-Philip Poulin capitalized off a penalty shot opportunity in the second period, but USA’s Kendall Coyne Schofield knotted the score just 1:12 later. Alex Carpenter scored the go-ahead tally with 6:36 remaining in the third to give the U.S. a 2-1 win and a 2-0 series lead. U.S. goalie Maddie Rooney recorded 19 saves in net. Series score: USA leads 2-0.
Game 3, Nov. 20: USA 4, CAN 2 — Team USA’s Hilary Knight had two goals and one assist to lead the U.S. women to a 4-2 win over Canada. Savannah Harmon and Abby Roque also scored for the U.S., which notched three consecutive wins against Canada for the first time since 2019. Goalie Nicole Hensley made 22 saves in front of a record-setting crown at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, where fan attendance totaled 14,551. Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse scored for Canada. Series score: USA leads 3-0.
Game 4, Dec. 19: CAN 3, USA 2 — Sarah Nurse scored the go-ahead goal with less than five minutes remaining to secure Team Canada’s first win of the 2022-23 Rivalry Series, winning 3-2 last Thursday at Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. Team USA’s Amanda Kessel opened the scoring late in the first, but Canada responded in the middle frame with two goals by Jamie Lee Rattray and Blayre Turnbull. Hilary Knight tied the game for USA in the third, but Nurse’s goal put Team Canada over the top. Goaltender Kristen Campbell made 21 saves for Canada, while Maddie Rooney made 13 saves in net for the U.S. Series score: USA leads 3-1.
Rivalry Series history
Following Monday’s loss, the U.S. holds a 6-2-2-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record over Canada all time in the Rivalry Series. Canada won the 2018-19 Rivalry Series with a 2-0-0-1 record, while the U.S. won the 2019-20 Rivalry Series with a 3-1-1-0 record.
Overall, Monday marked meeting No. 172 between Canada and the U.S., the 58th meeting on U.S. ice and the second ever in California. Monday was the second time the Rivalry Series has visited California, following a Feb. 8, 2020, meeting at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Canada holds the edge in the overall (97-74-1) and in games played in the States (32-25-1). Of note, the U.S. and Canada have battled in the gold-medal game of six of seven Winter Olympics and 20 of 21 IIHF Women’s World Championship, with the two exceptions being the 2019 World Championship and 2006 Olympics. The Canadian women are the reigning Olympic and World champions.
2019-20 RIVALRY SERIES
| DATE | RESULT | LOCATION | U.S. PLAYER OF THE GAME |
| Dec. 14, 2019 | USA 4, CAN 1 | Hartford, Connecticut | Alex Cavallini |
| Dec. 17, 2019 | USA 2, CAN 1 | Moncton, N.B. | Alex Carpenter |
| Feb. 3, 2020 | CAN 3, USA 2 (OT) | Victoria, B.C. | Hilary Knight |
| Feb. 5, 2020 | USA 3, CAN 1 | Vancouver, B.C. | Katie Burt |
| Feb. 8, 2020 | USA 4, CAN 3 (OT) | Anaheim, California | Megan Bozek |
2018-19 RIVALRY SERIES
| DATE | RESULT | LOCATION |
| Feb. 12 | USA 1, CAN 0 | London, Ontario |
| Feb. 14 | CAN 4, USA 3 | Toronto, Ontario |
| Feb. 17 | CAN 2, USA 0 | Detroit Michigan |
