International Ice Hockey Federation

U.S. powers past Canada

U.S. powers past Canada

American PP clicks thrice in Sochi rematch

Published 28.03.2015 19:17 GMT+1 | Author Lucas Aykroyd
U.S. powers past Canada
MALMO, SWEDEN - MARCH 28: USA's Kendall Coyne #26 celebrate after a first period goal while Canadian players Genevieve Lacasse #31, Jillian Saulnier #11 and Lauriane Rougeau #5 look on during preliminary round action at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)
In Saturday’s marquee matchup, the United States staked an early claim to bragging rights in Group A with a 4-2 triumph over Canada at the Malmo Isstadion.

It was the first official IIHF clash between these two powerhouses since the Canadians beat the Americans 3-2 for the 2014 Olympic gold medal, staging a stunning late rally from a 2-0 deficit.

The year after Sochi, the biggest rivalry in women’s hockey is as hot as ever. Canada and the U.S. (the defending World Champions from 2013) have faced each other in all 15 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship finals since the tournament started in 1990.

"I think there’s always that vibe on the ice between these two teams," said Canada's Brianne Jenner. "We’re really evenly matched. It’s always a good game. [Sochi is] behind us. The focus is on this Worlds and winning the gold here."

The Americans got the upper hand here with their high-speed, high-skill approach, and their power play clicked three times. They outshot Canada by a convincing 34-11 margin.

Jocelyne Lamoureux, Hannah Brandt, Kendall Coyne, and Hilary Knight scored for the Americans, and Kacey Bellamy had a pair of helpers. Jenner and Jennifer Wakefield replied for Canada.

"It’s very exciting," said Bellamy. "Obviously the U.S.-Canada rivalry is what we live for, what we train for. We just wanted to start off on a good note. I think it was a really great team effort out there."

The U.S. takes pride in having won five of the last seven World Women’s Championships. They draw heavily on college talent. Ten of their current players also took part in the NCAA’s Frozen Four tournament last weekend, where Minnesota defeated Harvard 4-1 in the final for its fifth college title since 2004

Canadian goalie Genevieve Lacasse made her IIHF debut between the pipes. She did not see any playing time in Sochi, but she backstopped Canada to gold in November at the Four Nations Cup in Kamloops, Canada, the site of the 2016 Women’s Worlds. U.S. netminder Jessie Vetter, a four-time world champion, secured the three-point victory here.

The Americans opened the scoring at 4:04 on a two-man advantage. They worked it effectively around the perimeter, and Jocelyne Lamoureux stepped off the goal line to Lacasse’s right and roofed it past her glove.

At 7:23, Canada tied it up when Jenner burst in on a breakaway and beat Vetter with a heads-up backhand move.

"I think as a rightie, if you can pull it across quickly, then you have a good shot," Jenner said.

Vetter came up big when Canada’s Kelly Terry hammered one from close range with about nine minutes left in the first period.

The Americans went up 2-1 on a 5-on-4 at 11:45 as Bellamy’s rising shot from the left point was tipped by Brandt and found the back of the net through traffic.

It was 3-1 for the U.S. with 1:31 left in the first when Coyne tapped the puck in on the power play after a quick Bellamy shot from the right circle.

"I think we came to work hard, but I didn’t think we were working that smart," said Canadian coach Doug Derraugh. "We just had to believe in the system and stick to what our game plan was and not just get running around and chasing the puck."

Just 57 seconds into the second period, Wakefield narrowed the gap to 3-2 on a partial breakaway, fighting off American blueliner Emily Pfalzer’s stick check and, like Jenner, scoring on the backhand.

At 6:29 of the third, Knight put the Americans up 4-2, finishing off a nice rush with her linemates, Coyne and Brianna Decker, as she charged to the net.

The Canadians had no answer, despite calling a timeout and pulling their goalie with 1:23 remaining. Shots were 10-2 for the U.S. in the final stanza.

Forward Marie-Philip Poulin debuted as Canada’s new captain. The 24-year-old Quebec native scored the last-minute tying goal and the overtime winner in the last Olympic final. She also got the winner in Canada’s 2-0 gold medal win over the U.S. in Vancouver in 2010.

Of this game, Poulin said: "It went well in the second and third, but not well enough."

Both teams have brought new-look, youth-laden rosters to this tournament. Close to half the players participating in this game did not suit up in Sochi.

Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser, the all-time leading scorer in Olympic and World Women’s Championship history, is out with a broken foot, and the U.S’s Amanda Kessel, the 2013 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as college hockey’s best player, is recovering from a concussion. Other longtime stalwarts like Canada’s Jayna Hefford and Shannon Szabados and the U.S.’s Julie Chu also did not make the trip to Sweden.

Canada faces Russia on Sunday, while the U.S. will confront Finland.

"They’re a good European team, a fast team," Bellamy said of the Finns. "They can use the Olympic sheet to their advantage. We’ve got to move the puck, use our feet, and really get on them."

 

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