Gold-medal game reaction: Get us more women's hockey, please

BEIJING — Forward Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the second period in the gold medal women's hockey game on Wednesday, and Canada led 3-0 and was threatening to win in a blowout, just like it had in nearly every game of the Olympic tournament.

Team USA would not allow that to happen. Hilary Knight scored a shorthanded goal before the second intermission, then Team USA threw everything it had at Canada in the third period. You could argue that the Americans should have played with that intensity from the start. But Team USA did score a second goal during a 6-on-4 power play in the final minute after it pulled its goaltender.

That would be all the scoring on Wednesday, as Team USA ran out of time. Canada had a well-deserved Olympic gold medal after the latest entertaining game between the world's two best teams. The U.S. had to watch Canada celebrate at the Wukesong Sports Center after losing to their northern neighbors in a gold medal game for the fourth time in six meetings.

We learned a lot about these rivals in the weeks and months leading to Wednesday's showdown. How talented each team is. How fierce of a competitor Knight is. How explosive Canada's top line of Poulin, Brianne Jenner and Sarah Nurse is. How USA's Kendall Coyne Schofield is one of the fastest skaters around. How Canada's Sarah Fillier is a goal-scoring machine. How USA's Abbey Murphy won't back down from anyone.

It was enthralling. And now it's over.

The women's Olympic tournament remains the premier event of the sport. And that is troubling to type. Watching the pace, flair, grit and face washing that takes place in these games makes you wonder how and where these players stay sharp until they are called in for national team duty.

Like in a professional league?

A stable one has been hard to establish. There are two rival groups in North America: the five-team Professional Women's Hockey Players Association and the six-team Premier Hockey Federation (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). Coyne Schofield, who is connected with the PWHPA, turned emotional when asked if the past two weeks of the tournament can be parlayed into growing the game.

"We need to continue to push for visibility," said Coyne Schofield, who works with the PWHPA as it tries to establish a professional league where players can make a living. "We need to continue to fight for women's hockey, because it is not good enough. You can't end after the Olympic Games."

What has been eye-opening about this particular Olympic hockey tournament is the role college hockey in the United States is playing in providing opportunities. More than 100 former college players participated in the tournament. Every team had at least one college player on it. Like in other sports, there's a college talent pool to tap into, a good sign for the women's game.

Knight is pro professional league — as long as the infrastructure reflects it.

"When you have the opportunity to earn a living wage and be able to do this day in, day out, not have a second job, not have to juggle, you know, where programming is gonna come, where you're gonna practice, who's gonna find ice time, who's gonna be your physio, massage, you know?" said Knight, who has played in the shuttered Canadian Women's Hockey League, the NWHL and the PWHPA. "All those other things that you might not necessarily see, just when you see us on TV, but when those things get taken care of, this game's gonna be so much better for it."

That takes a bankroll. The 25-year-old WNBA has made itself into a viable league with nationally televised games and its own galaxy of stars. The NBA has helped fund the league, while suffering losses. But there's no indication the WNBA is going away.

The NHL is prepared to discuss backing a women's professional league, but there's a catch. It would listen if the PWHPA and the Premier Hockey Federation approach with a joint proposal. It's not known if the sides are even meeting on the subject.

So I'm not the only one wondering if there's an outlet for women hockey players when an Olympics or a world championship tournament isn't being played. USA-Canada is must-see television. More young women are crossing the pond to play at American colleges. Coaches of the women's Olympic teams agree that the game is growing. There seems to be an appetite. And the players believe it's time.

We shouldn't have to wait four years for this kind of spotlight on elite women's hockey.