'Captain Clutch' heads to fifth Games

Canada's "Captain Clutch" Marie-Philip Poulin heads into her fifth Winter Olympics as a rare blend of longevity, leadership and big-moment brilliance, qualities that have made her the face of women's ice hockey for more than a decade.

Poulin made her Olympic debut in 2010 and has reached the final in all four of her appearances, winning three. She is the only player, male or female, to score in four consecutive Olympic gold medal matches.

Her nickname stems from her ability to not only score goals, but to score them when it matters most, netting three game-winning goals in Olympic finals.

Poulin made her senior debut for Canada in 2007, the then 16-year-old scoring four goals and delivering one assist in two games against Sweden. A year later, she was the leading scorer at the inaugural under-18 world championship.

Canada took her to the senior world championship the following year, where she scored in both preliminary group games, and, after impressing at the Olympic tryout camp, Poulin was selected for the 2010 squad.

With Canada shouldering the burden of expectation as the host nation, Poulin was not expected to play a major role in a team full of established players.

However, the then 18-year-old made her mark with a match-winning performance in the final, scoring twice in three minutes in the opening period to earn Canada a 2-0 win over the United States.

Four years later, in Sochi, Poulin was again decisive in the final. Her goal in the final minute of the third period made it 2-2 against the US, and the forward then scored the overtime winner.

The US took gold in 2018 with a shootout win after Poulin, by that time the captain, had put her side 2-1 up, but Canada bounced back in Beijing four years later, with Poulin scoring a double in a 3-2 win over the Americans.

Milano-Cortina could be Poulin's last Olympics, and if, as expected, Canada reaches the final, all eyes will be on her once again.

"There is pressure," she told The Canadian Press in a recent interview. "For myself, it's just part of it. I've learned to embrace it. You get to be in those moments for a reason.

"But hockey is a team sport. I'm not there by myself. Nowadays, when I get in those moments, I'm enjoying it more."

At 34, Poulin shows no signs of slowing down and heads to the Olympics after another stellar year.

She earned the International Ice Hockey Federation "Female Player of the Year" award, was named the Professional Women's Hockey League's MVP, and while Canada missed out on gold at the Women's World Championship — losing 4-3 to the US in the final — Poulin was the leading scorer and tournament MVP.

Canada has won five of the seven gold medals since women's ice hockey joined the Olympic program in 1998, and the Poulin factor gives it a major advantage going into Milano-Cortina.

The Canadians will once more look to their captain in the crucial moments, and if history is any indication, Poulin will be exactly where she always is, at the heart of it all.

Reuters