WATCH: Canada’s golden girl Marie-Philip Poulin talks about winning gold and the incredible comeback
Marie-Philip Poulin has been called the Sidney Crosby of women’s hockey for her extensive list of achievements at such a young age.
Now she and Crosby have something else in common – a golden goal.
The 22-year-old potted the tying goal and overtime winner to capture Canada’s fourth straight gold medal in women’s hockey after one of the most memorable comebacks in the sport’s history.
Canada was down 2-0 with three minutes and 26 seconds to go in the third period when Brianne Jenner gave Canadians hope with an ugly goal that deflected off an American defender.
Poulin tied it 2-2 with 55 seconds left after Canada pulled their goalie. Eight minutes into overtime, Poulin put the dagger into Americans’ hearts with the golden goal.
Unless you follow women’s hockey very closely, Poulin is far from the household name teammate Hayley Wickenheiser is. So who is this speedy forward, born in Quebec City?
Poulin made her professional debut in 2007 at age 16 with the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. She dominated the league, notching 43 points in 16 games.
She made her national debut playing for the women’s under-18 team in 2007. She helped the team win back to back silver medals in 2008 and 2009. In her two full seasons with the under-18 team, she became the team’s all-time leading scorer, with 31 points in 17 games.
She has proven to be a clutch performer in both of her Olympic experiences. In Canada’s 2-0 win over the United States in the 2010 gold-medal game, Poulin scored both Canadian goals. She took it up a notch with a tying goal in the last minute and an overtime winner in 2014.
Poulin has also played for the Dawson College Blues and the Boston University Terriers, where she was a co-captain in the 2012-2013 season.
With much of the Canadian women’s leadership growing older, some have likely played in their last Olympics in Sochi. Poulin, on the other hand, is emerging as one of the team’s leaders. Don’t be surprised to see a letter on that jersey number 29 sometime soon.
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