There’s no real way to sugarcoat this one. It was the gold medal game of the 2025 Women’s Hockey Championships, which means the pressure was on, and both teams, USA and Canada (of course), had played exceptionally through the course of it, which is why they ended up tied at 3-3 and heading into overtime. Now, had Canada maintained their cool here, things would’ve been a lot different, but when Canada’s #10 Sarah Fillier had the puck behind the net, her communication to Jocelyn Larocque was, let’s just say, not a masterclass in clarity.
Fillier had been holding the puck behind Canada’s net for a while, seemingly trying to communicate with the other two players, Larocque and Daryl Watts; however, when Larocque came to Fillier’s rescue from the left of the net, Fillier skated off to the right and then off the ice to go for a change! Larocque didn’t seem to be clear on this and seemed to think she’d be passing to Fillier but was instead left alone against USA’s 3-person roundup, and Tessa Janecke managed to steal the puck and score. It wasn’t the most glorious win, and it was definitely a regrettable loss.
Wow what a blunder by Canada in overtime. Miscommunication leads to USA’s game winner. #WomensWorlds
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 20, 2025
Unfortunately, this miscommunication brings to light many things. One being, why did OT in the Women’s Hockey Championships go straight to 3 on 3 playing? Shouldn’t they have had more players on the ice for the first few rounds of OT? And secondly, how could the championships end with such an amateur mistake? Fans definitely had their thoughts that they shared widely on X, as they so often do.
Fan reactions to miscommunication in OT of the Women’s Hockey Championship final
One fan was flabbergasted with the sheer degree of miscommunication that took place, writing, “Canada with a plot twist worthy of a rom-com! Miscommunication, you sure know how to keep us on our toes!” It’s true, when one watches the moment on repeat, you can’t help but wonder, how did they both get each other so wrong? And who’s to blame, really?
Another fan suffered severe second-hand embarrassment on account of the incident, writing, “That is embarrassing Absolutely horrific What a way to lose gold medal game in overtime! Shameful.” Again, true, to win or lose a gold medal based on miscommunication sort of undermines all the stellar playing up until that point, and though there is no truth to it, it seems to defeat the very purpose of the championship! Heavy emotions, these.
Other fans attempted optimism with a touch of snarkiness: “It’s ok they will faceoff in the next 15252617171 tournament finals for the next 1000 years so they will have a chance for redemption.” Also very true. Though there are 10 ice hockey teams that frequently partake in the International Ice Hockey Federation events, the USA and Canada seem to be the only two teams that continually make it to the finals, which is something that, along with OT rules, should maybe change soon!
Yet another fan commented on Larocque’s performance herself, though from the video it isn’t too clear if Larocque is the one to blame; this fan believed that “Larocque had a few really bad turnovers in OT. That’s probably her last shift with the National team. Canada is the better team, but undisciplined penalties, a bad goal and that OT turnover killed them today.” Harsh, but both Fillier and Larocque will probably need some time to get over this loss, so I don’t know about last shift, but a hiatus may be due.
And lastly, some fans did point out the strange 3-on-3 arrangement in OT. “I didn’t realize the women’s worlds play 3 on 3 in the gold medal game.” The fan wrote, adding, “That is truly embarrassing. Just awful and sad a gold medal is decided with 3 on 3. Imagine if that was the Stanley Cup Final. These women fight hard and compete and have to play that in OT. Ugh.” Here was an empathetic take on the setup of the women’s final, which, miscommunication or not, was not really given the gravitas of a men’s final and maybe on some subconscious level affects the quality of play. Either way, the USA definitely got back at Canada for that Four Nations debacle.
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