U.S. women will face Canada in the Olympic hockey gold medal match

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Finland's Minnamari Tuominen (left) and Team USA's Alexandra Carpenter vie for the puck next to Finland's goaltender Anni Keisala during the women's ice hockey semi-final match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. / AFP via Getty Images

BEIJING — A decisive 4-1 win over Finland on Monday in Beijing cinched the U.S.' place in the women's ice hockey finals later this week. The U.S. team will go up against its longtime rival, Canada, in the gold medal game.

Monday's match was hard-fought, with Finland pushing back hard against the U.S.

But now with Finland out of the way, the U.S. players are already setting their sights on taking on their North American neighbors.

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Finland's goaltender Anni Keisala concedes the first goal of the night during the women's ice hockey semifinal match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. / AFP via Getty Images

Since the women's sport was introduced at the Olympics in 1998, the U.S. and Canada are the only teams to have won gold. They have met in every final, except 2006, with Canada holding a 3-2 edge.

Heading into the match-up that will start at 11:10p.m. Wednesday ET, the U.S. is the defending champion, having beaten Canada in the gold medal game at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

The sport "gets the best and the worst out of both of us at the same time," Hilary Knight, a forward for the U.S., told reporters on Monday evening. "It's a wonderful game."

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