The US had won the previous five editions of the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and would have drawn level on Canada with 10 all-time triumphs had they won this match.

It was certainly a much closer game than the group A meeting between the sides, when Canada defeated the US 5-1 to end their 29 match winning streak at the Women’s World Championship.

Two goals from Alex Carpenter in the first period had the US on course for gold.

However, quick-fire goals from Brianne Jenner during an early power play and Jamie Lee Rattray drew Canada level. 

A string of good saves from Nicole Hensley in the American net kept the scores tied at 2-2 for the remainder of the second period, and a goalless third saw the game go to overtime.

During the three-on-three unlimited overtime period, it took just over seven minutes for Marie-Philip Poulin to notch the decisive golden goal for the Canadians and ensure that they regain their title.

The two North American nations have dominated the IIHF Women’s Worlds, contesting every final held except in 2019, when the US controversially defeated Finland in a shootout.

Canadian coach Troy Ryan explained how the team achieved their success.

"We tried to focus a lot on ourselves, making little adjustments for each opponent, but with so much time off from international play, we thought the focus should be on what makes us successful," he said.

"We got a little bit of that in the first game against the US and just tried to build off that for this gold-medal game."

Finland secured their 13th bronze medal at the Women’s World Championship with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland earlier in the day.

Tanja Niskanen opened the scoring for the Finns inside two minutes in the first period, and Ella Viitasuo doubled their lead just 54 seconds into the second period.

Swiss captain Lara Stalder pulled one back a few minutes later, but Finland’s top scorer Petra Nieminen restored their two-goal cushion at the end of the second, and that was how it finished.

In the match for fifth place, goals in the first and third period from Valeria Pavlova and Viktoria Kulishova saw the Russian Olympic Committee defeat Japan 2-0.