BEIJING—Hilary Knight could think of no better way to close the Beijing Games women’s hockey tournament than a rematch between the United States and—who else?—Canada with the gold medal on the line.
During an Olympic tournament criticized for lacking parity because of too many lopsided scores—and big on predictability with the United States and Canada once again dominating—the title will be fittingly settled between the world’s two major powers on Thursday. It will mark the next chapter in a fierce rivalry which dates to the Americans defeating Canada at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature women’s hockey.