According to Rachel Brady of the Globe and Mail on Monday, Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Quebec had a record-breaking performance in Canada’s 4-2 win over the United States. Desbiens made 51 saves, which was a Canadian record for most saves made by a Canadian goaltender in an Olympic hockey game (either in a men’s Olympic hockey game or a women’s Olympic hockey game).
Desbiens made 16 saves in the first period, 14 saves in he second period, and 21 saves in the third period. However, it was the quality of the saves that Desbiens made that were spectacular. The United States had several outstanding opportunities to take the lead in the opening frame, but Desbiens was simply perfect.
At the 2021 Women’s World Hockey Championship in Calgary, Desbiens came up huge as Canada won their first gold medal at the World Championship level since 2012. She had a record of 5-0 with a goals against average of 1.37 and a save percentage of .908, as she made 69 saves in 76 shot attempts.
Canada will now play the number three seed from Group B in the quarterfinals. This game will take place either Friday or Saturday. Of the four quarterfinal games, the only game we know will happen is the United States versus the Czech Republic.
