Catfight on Ice: USA-Canada Women in Fine Olympic Form

Do know there's no crying in hockey.

Not even when the punches are thrown at a fast and furious pace. And this is in the women's game.

However, the rivalry between the American and Canadian women's Olympic hockey teams goes beyond the competitive ferocity in any other female sport. Always has. Probably always will.

Last night, in Fargo, the latest tune-up for the Sochi Olympics saw more than one player get tuned up:

So the stage is set for the 28 December rematch.

In theory, there's no checking in the women's game. Medical reasons are mentioned. But so-called 'rub outs' along the boards are allowed, and those come with a fine line as to what constitutes a rub out as opposed to a check, as evidenced above.

These teams must be trying to get all this out of their systems now. At Sochi, summary ejections from brawls could cost these gold medal co-favorites a trip to the highest step on the platform. Fighting in the Olympic tournament results in an automatic match penalty, and while both of these squads have depth, the last thing either one needs is to lose a key player for any amount of time.

For the record, there has never been a fight during an Olympic tournament game, for either the men or the women.

But if history is ever made in this regard, these are the odds-on favorites to do it.