For some of hockey’s best based out of Montreal, the offseason contained a little more fun and friendly competition than in years past.
In just its second season, the Living Sisu Hockey League (LSHL) caught the eyes of many this summer, with a splashy social media presence that showcased a lively atmosphere where NHLers and elite women’s players prepped shoulder-to-shoulder for their upcoming seasons.
Split across four teams, players like Zach Fucale, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jonathan Huberdeau and Kris Letang highlighted the men’s division, while members of Canada’s National Women’s Team —Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Laura Stacey, Mélodie Daoust, Jessie Eldridge and more—shone on the women’s side.
Coming off a golden year that saw Canada take home both an IIHF Women’s World Championship and Olympic gold , the league was a fun and challenging part of Stacey’s offseason training as she prepared for a new season, beginning with National Women’s Team selection camp in August ahead of the 2022 women’s worlds.
“Like any hockey player when you’re training in the summer, you do your drills, you’re working out, working on skills,” says the 5-foot-9 forward. “But what we’re really missing is that team atmosphere, that competitive atmosphere where we push each other and get better.
“It was a lot of fun; it was something to get the whole group together and look forward to every Monday night.”
But Stacey is quick to note that while comradery and community highlighted the league, competition was still the name of the game, expressing with a laugh her disappointment at a semifinal knockout for her and her teammates—the loss of bragging rights amongst her national teammates even worse.
Desbiens earned those honours, taking a 9-6 win over Stacey’s squad.
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For Desbiens, while the win was sweet, she relished the opportunity to keep competing over the summer in a fun way, saying, “Sometimes in the summer it's more about just practicing and skills, but with the league all of us were looking forward to being in that team setting, being able to compete, keep track of the score, playoffs. It got very competitive, but it was also the highlight of the week for all of us.”
The 3-on-3 play offered plenty of opportunity to work on small-area games and apply skill work in a competitive setting against top athletes from across the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).
“As a goalie, 3-on-3 might not be the most ideal setting, I'll be honest,” Desbiens says with a laugh. “It definitely adds more odd-number situations, more tips, screens, rebounds. Every shot is a threat, breakaways. It's definitely very challenging, very fast-paced, very back and forth. Got to play the puck quite a bit so that made it even more enjoyable, but very challenging as a goalie, but that's what makes it fun.”
Beyond the benefit to their play on the ice, the LSHL pulled in fans in the arena and online with ample social media coverage exposing the new league to hockey fans in Montreal and across the country.
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“They did a great job, they had a ton of coverage,” says Stacey. “We had full stands. It was a great crowd and a good energy. It just shows that people want to see it. They want to come out and see our games and social media is huge for getting that message out.”
While professional women’s leagues are growing, the opportunity for most Canadians to watch these athletes is still centred around international competition and the Olympics, with Desbiens noting that the coverage of the LSHL provided a window into the day-to-day fun the athletes have, the summer competition providing another opportunity for visibility.
“I think that's what was special about that league is we had university players, U SPORTS, we had NCAA, we had a lot of different [players],” the goaltender adds. “If you come to watch, you'll see names that you might have never heard of before, but you should probably know them.”
With a 3-on-3 championship under her belt, Desbiens will look to add another, this time alongside Stacey, at the 2022 women’s worlds in Denmark. Canada comes in as the reigning world and Olympic champions, with all eyes on it as it tries to go back-to-back for the first time since 2001.
Stacey notes the excitement and curiosity she’s received from other players, looking for opportunities similar in areas like Toronto and Calgary, and how the visibility and training opportunity the LSHL has created can only help to build women’s hockey as a whole.
“I just think that anytime you can get that awareness and that excitement out there, it helps grow the game.”
Follow all of the action as Canada’s National Women’s Team competes at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
HERNING, Denmark – Canada’s National Women’s Team opened up defence of its gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship with a 4-1 win over Finland on Thursday.
Canada vs. Switzerland – Saturday, August 27 (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT)
“We’re obviously happy with the win, but we’re not happy with the way we played at all. The first [period] wasn’t great, we were pleased with our second, and the third period was somewhere in between the two. It’s only the first game and we understand that a lot of times the world championship is just about getting better every day and building off that.”
- Head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.) on his team’s performance
“Ideally, we can take less penalties, but we play a physical game so it’s going to happen. I thought our penalty kill forecheck was really good; they had a really hard time breaking out of their zone, so that was a huge positive. Once they get into our zone on their power play, that’s definitely the strength of their team. I thought we did a pretty good job keeping them to the outside, getting in shot lanes … they got the one power-play goal, but overall it was pretty good and there’s tweaks we can still make moving forward.”
- Larocque on the Canadian penalty kill going 5-for-6
“All the preparation that we’ve done leading up to this and even beforehand, every player, in terms of holding themselves accountable for training, these are the times where it all pays off. I think we’ve been lucky being together now for a few weeks, fine tuning the details of our game and we’ll just continue to do that from here.”
- Mikkelson on the value of the pre-tournament games
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (AUGUST 25)
TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct
The reigning Olympic and world champions, Canada’s National Women’s Team drops the puck on a new season on Thursday, opening up the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship against Finland in Herning.
Canada closed out a set of pre-tournament games against the United States on Tuesday, beating its cross-border 3-1 ahead of women’s worlds. The U.S. held the Canadians off the board in the first, but it was all Canada after that. Blayre Turnbull’s unassisted score tied the game and women’s worlds rookie Jessie Eldridge netted the game-winner on a power play halfway through the period – her third goal in two exhibition games. Sarah Fillier capped the scoring in the third for Canada, which got a combined 19 saves from Ann-Renée Desbiens and Kristen Campbell.
The Finns closed out their pre-tournament schedule on Sunday, blanking host Denmark 8-0 in Rødovre. Vivi Vainikka paced the offence with a hat trick and an assist, while Elisa Holopainen contributed a goal and three helpers. Anni Keisala earned the shutout in the Finnish goal, making nine saves.
The Canadians and Finns met in the preliminary round at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, with Canada earning an 11-1 win on its way to gold in Beijing. Brianne Jenner and Sarah Nurse did the damage up front, scoring a hat trick each, while Natalie Spooner had four assists and Marie-Philip Poulin added three helpers. In total, 16 of the 19 Canadian skaters recorded points.
The 2022 women’s worlds will be the ninth for lockdown defender Jocelyne Larocque. While the Canadians are known for their offensive exploits (they scored 34 times in seven games at the 2021 worlds and had 54 in seven at the Olympics), Larocque – who made her 150th international appearance during the pre-tournament – has been a force in the defensive zone; last summer in Calgary, she finished +11 and chipped in with four assists as Canada ended a 10-year gold medal drought.
To beat the scoring machine that is Canada, one has to be strong between the pipes, which Finland certainly is. Keisala was a rock between the pipes as the Finns won bronze at the 2021 worlds, earning Top Goaltender honours and a place on the tournament all-star team after fashioning a .949 save percentage and 1.43 goals-against average. In Beijing, she played all but two periods as Finland claimed another bronze medal, posting a .915 save percentage and a tournament-best two shutouts.
Canada has just a pair of losses and a tie in 86 all-time meetings with the Finns, but the Nordic nation is always a tough matchup.
There have been plenty of impressive individual performances against Finland over the years, but two stand out. When the teams met at the 2006 4 Nations Cup in Kitchener, Ont., Jayna Hefford had a hat trick and four assists and Caroline Ouellette added a hat trick and three helpers to help Canada to an 8-1 win. Hefford’s seven points remain a single-game Team Canada record.
All-time record: Canada leads 83-2-1 Canada goals: 445 Finland goals: 110
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has announced the 23 players named to Canada’s National Women’s Team who will look to defend the gold medal at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship, Aug. 24-Sept. 4 in Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark.
The players were chosen following an 11-day selection camp at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary as part of the BFL National Women’s Program Summer Showcase. The camp featured on- and off-ice testing, skills sessions and six intrasquad games showcasing players competing for roster spots with Canada’s National Women’s Team and Canada’s National Women’s Development Team.
The roster – three goaltenders, seven defence and 13 forwards - was selected by head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.), in consultation with Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.), director of hockey operations, and Cherie Piper (Scarborough, Ont.), senior manager of player development and scouting, along with the rest of the scouting and coaching staffs.
“It is unusual to play in a world championship and an Olympics in a single year, but this opportunity allows us to evaluate ourselves against the best in the world as we start our new four-year Olympic cycle,” said Kingsbury. “We are fortunate to have familiarity among our coaching staff and players who know what it takes to win. We had an extremely competitive camp and we believe we have assembled an experienced team that will give us the best chance to compete once again for a gold medal.”
The 10-team tournament features Canada in Group A with Finland, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, while Group B includes Czechia, host Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Sweden.
Canada opens the tournament against Finland on Aug. 25, and faces Switzerland on Aug. 27 and Japan on Aug. 28 before closing the preliminary round against its rivals from the United States on Aug. 30.
Prior to the start of women’s worlds, Canada will play a pair of pre-tournament games against Denmark on Aug. 20 and the United States on Aug. 23.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will carry extensive game coverage throughout the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship, airing all of Canada’s games. TSN will broadcast all Group A preliminary-round games, quarterfinals, semifinals and medal games from KVIK Hockey Arena in Herning. RDS will provide coverage of all Team Canada games, in addition to playoff-round games.
For more information from the IIHF, please visit the official tournament site at 2022.womensworlds.hockey.
Canada has captured 11 gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2021), in addition to eight silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and one bronze (2019).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Women’s Team has won its 11th gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, earning a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the United States on Tuesday night.
Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) got the winner 7:22 into overtime, after Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) and Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) had scored 2:29 apart early in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit.
After Alex Carpenter scored twice for the U.S. in the first period, Jenner tucked in a power-play goal 4:13 into the second and Rattray tipped in a Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.) shot at 6:42 to make it 2-2.
That would be it for scoring until Poulin took a perfect pass from Jenner and wired a shot off the crossbar and down, just across the goal line to give Canada its first world title since 2012.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Poulin said of winning gold. “The team showed up tonight, we stayed resilient, we stayed to our way, our game and it was amazing – a team effort all around. It wasn’t the start we wanted, down 2-0, but just focusing on what we’ve been doing all tournament was key. In the third period, we killed many penalties, we stuck together, didn’t panic and we took it over in overtime. Obviously, it’s an amazing feeling, since 2012 it’s been a long time coming and the last two years has been a lot of work. We did our work, came as a group and we did it.”
Following the tournament, Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) was named Most Valuable Player and Best Forward by the IIHF Directorate. Daoust led the tournament in scoring with 12 points (six goals, six assists). Daoust, Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.) and Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) were named to the Media All-Star Team.
A full game summary and recap can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.
“We’ve tried to focus a lot this event, touching on making little adjustments about the opponent,” said Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.). “With so much time off from international play, we thought the priority should be on our game and what makes us successful. We got a little bit in that first game against the U.S. and we just tried to build off that for this game.”
Canada was perfect through the preliminary round, finishing atop the Group A standings with wins over Finland, ROC, Switzerland and the United States, outscoring its opponents 20-5. Canada earned a trip to the gold medal game with a 7-0 quarterfinal shutout of Germany and a 4-0 semifinal win over Switzerland.
Canada has captured 11 gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2021), in addition to eight silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and one bronze (2019).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or following along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GAME STATS: CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2 (OT)
CALGARY, Alta. – Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) scored a dramatic overtime winner 7:22 into the extra period, giving Canada’s National Women’s Team a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the United States on Tuesday night for its 11th gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.
The Canadians claimed the world title for the first time since 2012, when Caroline Ouellette scored the extra-time goal to give Canada the win over the U.S. It also marks the first time Canada has gone unbeaten at a women’s worlds since 2007 in Winnipeg.
With the teams going end-to-end in three-on-three overtime, Poulin took a perfect pass from Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) and wired a shot over the glove of American netminder Nicole Hensley.
THE GOLDEN GOAL! 🥇#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @pou29 pic.twitter.com/tL3mbdYzLJ — Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 1, 2021
THE GOLDEN GOAL! 🥇#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @pou29 pic.twitter.com/tL3mbdYzLJ
The puck pinged off the under side of the cross bar and came down just across the goal line, but was in and out so fast that it was initially waved off by the referee. As play continued into the Canadian end, IIHF video review confirmed the shot was in and the horn sounded to end another memorable chapter of the Canada-U.S. rivalry.
Early on it looked as if the Americans would crash the party in Calgary and leave with a sixth-straight gold.
Alex Carpenter got the all-important first goal midway through the first period, knocking her own rebound through the legs of Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.), and she added a second less than three minutes later, finding a loose puck off a scramble in front and firing it past the Canadian netminder.
But Canada came out with the jump to open the second, equalizing before the period was seven minutes old.
Jenner was first on a Canadian power play at 4:13, showing off her quick hands to tuck a shot around Hensley.
Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) tied it 2:29 later, getting her stick on a blast from Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.) and tipping it down and through the five-hole of the American goaltender.
What. A. Tip. 🏒#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @ratt26 pic.twitter.com/s2N1X0m27x — Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 1, 2021
What. A. Tip. 🏒#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @ratt26 pic.twitter.com/s2N1X0m27x
After back-to-back Canadian power plays came up empty, the penalty kill went to work; the Americans enjoyed three-and-a-half power plays in the third period alone, but the Canadians, led by Poulin and Jenner up front, kept the game tied.
Desbiens did her part as well, making a couple of point-blank stops as part of her 23-save performance.
It was no surprise the gold medal game needed overtime; it marked the fifth time in the last seven finals between the teams that an extra period was necessary to crown a world champion.
Poulin joins an exclusive list of golden goal scorers for Canada at women’s worlds – Nancy Drolet did it in 1997 and 2000, and Caroline Ouellette was the hero when Canada won its most recent gold in 2012.
Follow the game, Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) earned Most Valuable Player and Top Forward honours, as well as a place on the Media All-Star Team, where she was joined by Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) and Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.).
The 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship comes to a close Tuesday in Calgary, as does a rollercoaster ride that has lasted more than 18 months; the tournament – originally scheduled for Halifax, N.S., was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then again in April of this year with cases rising in Nova Scotia.
Fans watching on TSN see the action on the ice, but the action behind the scenes – especially this year in a bubble environment – is a major part of welcoming the world to what is one of the major events on the international hockey calendar.
“This has been an unbelievable journey, persevering through a continuing global pandemic and a pair of cancellations to host a women’s worlds that we are so proud of,” said Dean McIntosh, vice-president of events and properties for Hockey Canada. “This tournament is about so much more than the 12 days of hockey at WinSport Arena; it is about the efforts of event staff, players, coaches, officials and volunteers who should be so proud of what they have accomplished.”
So what exactly goes into – and comes out of – hosting the women’s worlds, in the summer, with four months notice, after two cancellations? Let’s take a look at the numbers:
0: Paid attendance for the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all 31 tournament games were played without fans, although a very limited number of family and friends were allowed in the building.
12: Points for tournament leader Mélodie Daoust, just the fourth double-digit performance by a Canadian since 2007 (Hayley Wickenheiser put up 10 points in 2012, Marie-Philip Poulin had 12 en route to MVP honours in 2013, and Natalie Spooner totalled 10 in 2019).
22: Officials who worked the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, representing seven countries – Canada (7), United States (7), Finland (2), Russia (2), Sweden (2), Austria (1), Switzerland (1)
37: Media availabilities done through Zoom from Aug. 16, the first day teams were out of quarantine, through the semifinals. This includes IIHF press conferences with both teams after each game, and availabilities done by Canada’s National Women’s Team prior to games, after practices and on off-days.
47: Staff in the bubble for TSN and RDS to broadcast every preliminary-round and playoff-round game at women’s worlds for the first-time ever. This includes everyone from play-by-play announcers Rod Black and Kenzie Lalonde to production runners, camera operators and fibre-optic technicians.
131: Goals scored through the semifinals, by 74 different players. The highest single-game total came in the United States’ 10-2 win over Japan in the quarterfinals, while the lowest were a pair of 1-0 games – Japan’s victory over Denmark in the preliminary round, and Finland’s 1-0 triumph over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals
207: Accredited media representing all 10 competing nations. Not surprisingly, Canadian media comprised the largest delegation – 70 media from 41 different media outlets.
242: Players who dressed for at least one game. Denmark, Germany and ROC were the only teams that had all of their rostered players see game action.
279: Scrapes during TV timeouts by the volunteer ice crew. At the first whistle after the six-minute, 10-minute and 14-minute marks of each period, a team of eight skaters cleared snow in front of both nets and around the edge of the rink.
509: Individuals who were permanently inside the bubble from the arrival of teams on Aug. 10. That does not include WinSport Arena and hotel staff who worked inside the bubble, but were not permanent inhabitants.
528: Hours spent in the bubble by the top six teams; players and staff arrived to begin quarantine on Aug. 10, were on the ice for their first practices on Aug. 16, skated in pre-tournament play on Aug. 18 and dropped the puck to open the tournament on Aug. 20.
737: Accreditations issued, which includes all players, team staff, officials, volunteers, Hockey Canada staff, International Ice Hockey Federation staff and venue staff at WinSport Arena.
753: Social media posts related to the women’s worlds sent across all Hockey Canada platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) from Aug. 20-30. The posts – in English and French – earned 16,364,321 impressions and 474,672 engagements.
1,037: Days between Halifax and Truro, N.S., being awarded the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship (Oct. 30, 2018) and the gold medal game between Canada and the United States in Calgary (Aug. 31, 2021). The tournament was first cancelled March 7, 2020, and then again on April 21, 2021.
1,686: Minutes of hockey played through the end of the semifinals. Only one game has gone beyond 60 minutes – Switzerland’s come-from-behind 3-2 win over ROC in the quarterfinals.
3,808: COVID-19 tests performed on players, team staff, Hockey Canada staff, International Ice Hockey Federation staff, TSN and volunteers from the start of the pre-screening period on Aug. 1 through Aug. 29.
6,134: Towels used by teams and officials during the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship. To comply with COVID-19 protocols, each towel was used only once and then laundered.
6,156: Volunteer hours worked to help the tournament run behind the scenes. The volunteer group included 60 individuals; of those, 30 were inside the bubble as part of the transportation, team services and off-ice officials groups. At a typical women’s worlds in Canada, the volunteer team would total more than 300.
12,518: Litres of water consumed by players and officials during the women’s worlds – that works out to just over 31 litres per player/official over the duration of the tournament.
16,044: Cups of Tim Hortons coffee consumed inside the bubble since Aug. 16.
24,780: Photos taken by Hockey Canada Images photographer Matthew Murnaghan. They included on-ice action, Team Canada headshots, behind-the-scenes exclusives and partner activations.
1,034,905: Page views at HockeyCanada.ca from Aug. 20-30. Traffic to IIHF Women’s World Championship pages totalled 733,923 views, or 70.9% of all web traffic.
1,488,670: Dollar total for the 50/50 draws for all six Team Canada game days through the end of the semifinals, with half the proceeds ($744,335) going to the Hockey Alberta Foundation to support women’s hockey initiatives in the province.
GAME NOTES: Canada vs. United States (August 31)
It has been 519 days since the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship was supposed to begin in Halifax, N.S., and the long journey has finally reached the end. Canada’s National Women’s Team faces the United States on Tuesday night in the gold medal game at the 2021 women’s worlds.
Mélodie Daoust led the way again for Canada in its semifinal, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Switzerland. Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston opened and closed for the scoring for the Canadians, who peppered the Swiss goal with 65 shots. Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her first shutout of the tournament with 10 saves.
The Americans got second-period goals from Alex Carpenter and Abbey Murphy to send them to a 3-0 victory over Finland in their semifinal. Kendall Coyne Schofield added a goal late to finish the scoring for U.S., which is into the gold medal game for the 20th time in as many women’s worlds.
The rivals closed out the preliminary round on Thursday night, with the Canadians jumping out to a two-goal lead in the first period and a five-goal advantage by the 11-minute mark of the second en route to a 5-1 win that ended the Americans’ 29-game winning streak at women’s worlds. Jamie Lee Rattray scored two goals, Brianne Jenner set up three and Ann-Renee Desbiens made 22 saves to help Canada finish the preliminary round perfect for the first time since 2013.
This Canadian team is deep. Very deep. While Daoust, Natalie Spooner and Brianne Jenner have led the way (the trio has combined for 29 points in six games), everyone is contributing; 18 of the 22 skaters have at least a point and 14 different players have scored goals. The hero can come from any line or any blue-line pairing, and that can only be a positive with a gold medal on the line.
The Americans are no slouches in the depth department, either; all 21 of the skaters that have been in the U.S. lineup have appeared on the scoresheet, and 13 have goals. Hilary Knight, Lee Stecklein and Grace Zumwinkle lead the way with six points apiece, and another three (Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker and Megan Keller) have five.
And how a general ‘watch this’ – the best women’s hockey players in the world are back on the big stage, facing off for the 154th time in their storied rivalry with a world title up for grabs. It doesn’t get any better than this.
This is the 19th time the Canadians and Americans have met for gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, with Canada holding a 10-8 advantage. The U.S. has won the last five world titles, with Canada’s most recent gold coming via a 5-4 overtime victory in 2012.
History tells us this will likely go down to the wire; four of the last six gold medal games between these teams have needed extra time (in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017), the 2013 final was a one-goal affair and it was 5-5 after two periods in 2015.
All-time record: Canada leads 84-67-1 (17-16 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 419 United States goals: 376
CALGARY, Alta. – Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) scored two more goals to send Canada’s National Women’s Team into the gold medal game at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship after a 4-0 semifinal win over Switzerland on Monday night.
The Canadians will face their rivals from the United States in the final on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).
Daoust scored in each of the first two periods for her fourth-consecutive multi-point effort. Her 12 points (six goals, six assists) are three clear of linemate Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) for the tournament scoring lead, and are the most by a Canadian at a women’s worlds since Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) recorded 12 in 2013.
Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.) and Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.) had the other goals for the Canadians, who are back in the gold medal game after missing out in 2019 when they were upset by Finland in the semifinals.
There would be no repeat in 2021, as Canada took control early. Fast opened the scoring just 5:14 in, jumping in off the blue line and burying a pretty setup from Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.)
Nice pass, eh? 🇨🇦#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @RenataFast | @briannejenner pic.twitter.com/XXH07h7wqz — Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 30, 2021
Nice pass, eh? 🇨🇦#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @RenataFast | @briannejenner pic.twitter.com/XXH07h7wqz
Fast was in on the second goal as well just 98 seconds later, letting go a wrist shot from the point that Daoust redirected through Andrea Brändli to make it 2-0.
Brändli was busy in the first period, stopping 18 of the 20 shots she faced as the Canadians outshot the Swiss 20-2.
Canada’s power play went to work early in the second period, getting a little puck luck to stretch its lead to three. Poulin threw a centring pass into the slot that deflected off the skate of Daoust and went up and over Brändli for her second of the game.
The Swiss netminder took over from there, stopping almost everything she faced the rest of the way; Brändli finished with 61 saves in all, including 21 of the 22 shots sent her way in the third period.
Johnston added a little more insurance with three minutes to go, wiring a shot just inside the far post for a power-play goal.
Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) was perfect at the other end, making 10 saves for her first shutout of the tournament.
Following the game, Canada’s top three players of the tournament, as selected by the coaches, were named – Daoust, Fast and Spooner.
GAME NOTES: Canada vs. Switzerland (August 30)
Canada’s National Women’s Team is through to the semifinals at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, set for a date with Switzerland with a spot in the gold medal game on the line.
The Canadians are looking to get back to the final for the 19th time after missing out in 2019, while the Swiss are into the last four for just the third time – they finished fourth in 2008 and won bronze (their lone medal) in 2012.
Canada dominated Germany in its quarterfinal on Saturday night, finishing with a massive 52-3 edge in shots on goal in a 7-0 win. Natalie Spooner scored twice and added an assist, Mélodie Daoust recorded a goal and two helpers and Sarah Fillier had one of each as that line contributed four goals and eight points. Emerance Maschmeyer earned her second shutout in as many starts with three stops.
Switzerland shocked ROC in the first quarterfinal Saturday, erasing a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation time and getting the overtime winner from Laura Zimmermann 5:29 into the extra period to earn a 3-2 victory. Saskia Maurer was terrific in the Swiss goal, turning aside all 28 shots she faced after taking over for Andrea Brändli just nine minutes in.
The teams met Tuesday night in preliminary-round play, with the Canadians earning a 5-0 win. Spooner led the charge with a pair of goals and Daoust had three more points as Canada blew open a scoreless game with four unanswered goals in the second period. Maschmeyer needed to make just 12 saves to record the shutout in her tournament debut while her teammates peppered Brändli and Maurer with 63 shots.
How good has Daoust been? The Valleyfield, Que., product has been on the scoresheet in all five games, and her 10 points lead all skaters in Calgary. She is also a tournament-best +12, and is doing it all while averaging just 14:20 of ice time per game, third-lowest among the 10 Canadian forwards who have played in all five games. Her line with Spooner and Fillier has produced 24 points, becoming arguably the best trio in the tournament.
For the Swiss, it’s all about momentum. Coming off an emotional comeback against the Russians, Switzerland will need a massive encore performance if they hope to spring what would be one of the biggest upsets in women’s hockey history. Maurer will play a big role – she has posted a .955 save percentage across four games, including two perfect performances in relief of Brändli.
This is about as one-sided as it gets. Canada and Switzerland have met 12 times since 1997, with the Canadians winning all 12 games and allowing just two – that’s right, TWO – goals against. At the IIHF Women’s World Championship, it’s a complete whitewash; the Canadians have won all seven meetings and posted a shutout in each and every one of them.
Some of the highlights? Marie-Philip Poulin posted the sixth and most recent four-goal game in Team Canada history in a 13-0 win at the 2013 women’s worlds in Ottawa (and added an assist for good measure), and Jayna Hefford put up five points of her own in a 10-0 victory in 1999.
All-time record: Canada leads 12-0 Canada goals: 105 Switzerland goals: 2
Esther Madziya Manager, Communications Hockey Canada
Spencer Sharkey Manager, Communications Hockey Canada
Jeremy Knight Manager, Corporate Communications Hockey Canada