The USA Women shrugged off a 23-18 loss on Tuesday in Lake Placid and turned the tables on Canada with a 26-21 victory in Montreal. The aggregate for the 2 game series was a 44-44 tie, but the U.S. Women qualify due to a higher “away goals” total, 26-23.

The Canadian Men also reversed a loss on Tuesday, by beating the USA 25-21. By coincidence, this was the exact same score as the Lake Placid match, resulting in aggregate 46-46 tie. And as the away goals (21-21) were also equal the USA and Canadian Men played a 10 minute overtime with Canada winning 5-2.

The USA Women and the Canadian Men have qualified for the PANAM Games next October in Guadalajara, Mexico. The USA Men and Canadian Women have the option of qualifying for the 8th and final PANAM Games via a “second chance” tournament later in 2011.

Christer Ahl was at all four matches and he provides an overview of what happened.

USATH: Triumph and Heartbreak
USATH: The pain of defeat
USATH: Running written commentary and chat

Podcast: USA-Canada Post PANAM Games qualifier analysis