SAN JOSE — The giants of women’s hockey really have only one option to prepare for the Pyeongchang Games that open Feb. 9:
Play each other. And do it often.
The United States and Canada have been going at it this fall to prepare for what almost everyone in the sport sees as the inevitable.
They are expected to have a gold-medal rematch in South Korea after having met in every Olympic final except one since women’s hockey was added to the Winter Games 20 years ago.
The North Americans continue their rivalry Friday night at SAP Center in San Jose as part of “The Time is Now Tour” that provides both squads with the best preparation for the games.
“We want to play the fastest, the toughest games, in our case notoriously in the last little bit, those games are against Canada,” U.S. captain Meghan Duggan told reporters earlier this year. “I’d play a hundred of them before the Olympics.”
The teams’ final exhibition against each other is Sunday in Edmonton. They will have faced each other eight times before meeting Feb. 15 in an Olympic Group A match in South Korea.
The Canadians head to San Jose with a two-game win streak over the reigning four-time world champions. But U.S. coach Robb Stauber hopes to reverse the slide as he tries to get the Americans in shape to win their first gold medal since the 1998 Nagano Games.
Here are five questions to consider:
What makes Canada so tough?
“One thing Canada does when they get a scoring chance, they have a knack for taking advantage” of it, Stauber said. “That tells you we have to eliminate their chances. Our chances of winning go up just by how we manage plays with the puck and without the puck.”
The teams have played in every World Championships final since they were first contested in 1990. The Americans have won seven of the past eight crowns but lost the past two Olympic finals.
“We have to be better at what they are good at it,” Stauber said. “We have to be really good at not giving them more than what they can create on their own.”
What are the goals for the game Friday night?
In his first try as the Olympic coach, Stauber has given the Americans more creative freedom. But that means they need to play fast. They didn’t do it two weeks ago in a 2-1 defeat to Canada in St. Paul, Minnesota.
So it’s the team’s top priority Friday.
Stauber also wants a more focused effort on defense. He likes how his group plays when they have the puck.
“But our play without the puck has to have the same intensity and the same energy,” he said. “We have to be mindful we don’t switch to offense too soon.”
Who will make the Olympic team?
The players have another motivation to perform Friday. The 23-woman Olympic roster will be announced Jan. 1. Coaches released Annie Pankowski of Wisconsin this week from the player pool. Two more players need to go by the end of the year.
Some veterans seem to be locks, including Palo Alto native Hilary Knight, Megan Bozek, Kacey Bellamy, twins Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Duggan.
But Stauber still is tinkering with lineups to find the right combination for the Pyeongchang Games.
“We don’t want a group of individuals,” he said. “We want all four lines that are super dependable working together.”
Who will be the Americans’ Olympic goalie?
The United States has three tested goalkeepers in a fierce competition. Friday’s game provides another chance for one of them to make her case.
The three are Alex Rigsby, Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley, the starter for the 2017 World Championships.
“This has to play itself out,” said Stauber, a former NHL goalkeeper. “As you get closer to the Olympics if one goalie plays sharp day in and day out” she “will get a more significant look.”
Past results, he added, don’t matter.
How good is the U.S. defense?
With so much focus on the Americans potent scoring, the defense sometimes is overlooked. But except for some lapses, Stauber couldn’t be happier with what he has.
“We’re enjoying a defensive core that is very agile,” he said. “They’ve instinctive. They can play aggressive and take time and space away from opponents. They have mobility, agility and the ability to move quickly.”
But Stauber hopes the team doesn’t have to depend on the defenders, particularly against Canada.
“Our hope is we spend less time on our end,” he said.