United States top guns in women’s hockey

4 Nations Cup shows Canada has some work to do

The U.S. team skates away with the 4 Nations Cup.

    At the moment, women’s hockey on the world stage belongs to the United States.

    If the 4 Nations Cup tournament that wrapped up last Saturday in Saskatoon did anything, it reinforced the U.S.A. is still great. The U.S. posted a perfect 4-0 record at the event held last Tuesday to Saturday at the SaskTel Centre that featured the senior national women’s teams from Canada, Finland and Sweden.

    In Saturday’s final, the States claimed a sound 5-2 victory over Canada. During the gold medal match, the U.S. transitioned up and down the ice better than Canada did and looked more polished on the power play and penalty kill units even with Canada scoring a power-play goal.

    The U.S. can play physical, but their finesse style of play was really something to behold. They have a really fine hockey team.

    The U.S. victory in the gold medal final doesn’t come as a surprise. They have taken the last four world championship tournaments and captured gold over Canada at the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, held this past February.

Brianna Decker is the veteran leader for the U.S.

    Canada’s last win at a major tournament championship game against the U.S. was at the 4 Nations Cup in 2014 held in Kamloops, B.C. The U.S. has won the last four consecutive 4 Nations Cup tournaments. 
    At the moment, it doesn’t appear the U.S. is going to fall off the mountaintop any time soon. Their team is stocked with a great group of veterans like captain Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hannah Brandt, Amanda Kessel, Kacey Bellamy, Emily Pfalzer and netminder Alex Rigsby.

    Besides the veterans, the U.S. showcased an impressive crop of youngsters like Sydney Brodt, Melissa Samoskevich, Cayla Barnes, Mikaela Gardner and Maddie Rooney.

    While women’s hockey between U.S. and Canada is one of the greatest rivalries in sports, it is hard to place a villain card on any of the U.S. players, if you are a Canadian hockey fan that meets the U.S. players.

    The members of the U.S. team came off very genuine and gave a feeling of being good persons. They are quietly confident but not arrogant. They also play with heart.

    When you have those intangibles on top playing the sport soundly on a technical level, your hockey team becomes incredibly tough to beat.

Hannah Brandt is one of the U.S.’s veteran standouts.

    In another twist that Canadians might not realize, the U.S. players value having success in the head-to-head games with Canada just like the Canadian players do. Victories in those contests are meaningful and are the things dreams are made of.
    That realization was seen in the face of Brodt, who is a 20-year-old right-winger playing in her first games ever with the U.S. senior women’s team at the 4 Nations Cup.

    Last Wednesday in the preliminary round encounter with Canada, Brodt scored with winning goal with 1:48 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and give the U.S. a 2-1 victory. The winning goal came against legendary Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados, and Brodt lived through that moment in just her second game with the U.S. senior national women’s team.

    During a post-game interview after that contest, she had a huge smile and a warm glow was radiating from her face.

Sydney Brodt turned heads at the 4 Nations Cup.

    Brodt said she scored due to being in the right place at the right time.

    Still, you could almost sense she was still processing what happened and might have been in disbelief about what actually took place, because it was a dream moment that came in her second game with the U.S. senior women’s national team.
    The U.S. players likely have an even bigger bond after fighting for and successfully receiving better compensation from U.S.A. Hockey in late March of 2017. Actually, it appears that episode resulted in an even stronger U.S. women’s program overall with a larger “all in” buy in from everyone.

    At the moment, the U.S. has set an incredibly high bar for Canada to get up to. The roles were reversed for a lengthy time between the two rivals, when Canada held the upper hand through much of the 1990s and the 2000s.

    While it may sound strange, Canada might not be that far out in reaching that bar. Veteran bench boss Perry Pearn guides Canada’s senior national women’s team as head coach, and the 67-year-old has seen it all during his time in the game.

Hilary Knight is still at the top of her game with the U.S.

    Pearn seems to have a good handle on the technical side of things on what Canada needs to do to counter what the U.S. does in its game. Following the gold medal loss last Saturday, Pearn mentioned technical areas the Canadian side improved in from the preliminary round encounter. He said small breakdowns snowballed to result in the sound U.S. win.

    Pearn said he believed his side didn’t quit, and he was correct in all of his assessments.

Canadian fans saw what they expected to see from veterans like Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Melodie Daoust, Laura Fortino and Szabados.
    What was most impressive was the effort Canada received from its youngsters, who were arguably the team’s best players at the 4 Nations Cup. 

U.S. women’s hockey victory celebrations are a common sight.

    Offensive defender Jaime Bourbonnais, who recently turned 20-years-old, played in her first week with Canada’s senior women’s national team, and she looked like a veteran already. Of course, everyone took notice of the rocket shot power-play goal she ripped past Rigsby in the gold medal final.

    Canada received sound performances from the likes of Sarah Fillier, Loren Gabel, Kristin O’Neill, Micah Zandee-Hart and Emerance Maschmeyer.

    The Canadian team does have the ingredients to turn the tables on the U.S. in the future.
    It also should be noted that, while women’s hockey on the world stage has been traditionally a two-horse race between Canada and the U.S., you still have to be aware that the Russian women’s team is starting to make some noise and could be poised for a rise.

    Women’s hockey on the world stage does have some interesting storylines developing. With that said, the United States are the top guns until someone finally beats them in a major tournament final.

Attendance 4 Nations Cup elephant

There were some empty seats at the SaskTel Centre at 4 Nations Cup.

    The biggest elephant in the room at the 4 Nations Cup was hard to ignore.

    When you caught games at the SaskTel Centre, it was hard to not see the empty seats, and only the rink’s lower bowl, which is believed to seat around 5,800, was open. No official attendance figures were released for the event.

    Crowds in games that didn’t involve Canada were sparse, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say those games might have reached 1,000 people. The lower bowl did fill up more, when Canada played especially for the preliminary round and gold medal game clashes with the United States.

Swedish supporters cheer on their team at 4 Nations Cup.

    Still, it was easy to navigate your way through the rink during the games between Canada and the U.S., and spots where groups of seats sat empty were noticeable. For the gold medal game, it would be safe to say the lower bowl was about 70 per cent full.

    To be fair, attendance at sporting events across Canada appears to be down unless you are an NHL team. Attendance at sporting events in Saskatoon has generally been down from past years except for those heading to University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey games to see the brand new Merlis Belsher Place.

    The obvious is just being stated here, and there are no quick solution. It seemed like most of the people that are involved with female hockey in the province did turn out to see some part of the 4 Nations Cup. 

    With the four competing teams featuring players that played in the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, held this past February, it would have been great to see more casual type fans out at the games.

Lieffers aces tough call in bronze medal game

Referee Cianna Lieffers was in position call Finland’s bronze medal winner.

    Saskatoon area based referee Cianna Lieffers had a highlight moment nailing a critical call during the 4 Nations Cup.

    In the third period of the bronze medal game last Saturday, Finland and Sweden were locked in a 2-2 tie. Finland went ahead 3-2 at the 8:36 mark of the frame during a frantic moment of action.

    During the scoring play, Finnish centre Tanja Niskanen drove hard to the Sweden’s net and was hacked down by a Swedish defender and slid into netminder Maria Omberg.

    Omberg managed to keep the puck out of the goal with her glove hand, but it sat loose in the crease of the net.

Cianna Lieffers worked a number of games at 4 Nations Cup.

    Finnish left-winger Annina Rajahuhta pounced on the loose puck knocking it into the goal to put Finland in front.

    There was a short protest by Sweden due to the fact Omberg couldn’t react to the rebound, because she had Niskanen sitting on top of her, but the winning tally stood up.

    Lieffers, who is originally from Cudworth, Sask., was the referee nearest to the play, and the 24-year-old got the call right. The goal had to stand, because had Niskanen not been knocked down by a Swedish defender, she wouldn’t have crashed into Omberg.

    Besides getting that part of the call right, Lieffers was in perfect position behind the net to see Rajahunta score. Lieffers called the goal immediately.

    That marker ultimately stood up as the winner in a 4-2 victory for Finland.
    Lieffers skated away with the satisfaction of getting a tough call correct, when emotions were running high in a game where the winning side claimed a medal.

Injured Clark hit with the biggest untrue rumour

 

Emily Clark injured her left leg.

  It appears the highest level of women’s hockey can be hit by the rumour mill like the NHL and WHL.

    Arguably the biggest untrue rumour of the week involved Saskatoon product Emily Clark. Clark is a 22-year-old forward with Canada’s senior national women’s team and an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team.

    She helped Canada win a silver medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    She missed the 4 Nations Cup having injured her left leg while playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Her injury occurred in the opening minutes of a Badgers 4-2 home win on Oct. 13 against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

    Apparently, there were a couple of fans at the event that didn’t believe the injury news. There was talk that Clark had become pregnant down in Madison, Wisconsin.

    It wasn’t the largest rumour out there, but it was something that was heard around the rink. Of course, it is not true.

    It also seem crazy that rumour got any traction at all. Clark made appearances at the Saskatoon Blades home game on Nov. 1 and the Stars home game on Nov. 3, and she had a walking boot visible on her left leg in both of those appearances.

    Players in the NHL and WHL are often dogged by various untrue rumours that are out there. By human nature, it is going to happen at the highest level of women’s hockey.

    Pretty much the best way for a player to deal with those rumours is to debunk them with teammates and have a chuckle over what you hear.

Media hit and miss at 4 Nations Cup

U.S. team members pose for media pictures with the 4 Nations Cup.

    During the 4 Nations Cup, it was easy to see the effects of the budget cut era of the Canadian media industry.

    A decade ago, an event like the 4 Nations Cup would have attracted a sizable medial gathering. In the current budget cut era of the Canadian media industry, the media presence was hit and miss at the 4 Nations Cup.

    During the first day of games, most of the outlets from Saskatoon cycled through to make an appearance. After the first day, there was an average of one or two media people at the early game that didn’t feature Canada.

    Canada’s clash with Finland last Friday night drew maybe only four media members. All the Saskatoon outlets were represented in the two encounters that featured Canada playing the United States.

    The only out of town members covering the event appeared to be one representative from The Canadian Press and one from the International Ice Hockey Federation outside of the crew that was involved with TSN.

    Still, it was good TSN showed the Friday night clash between Canada and Finland and Saturday’s two medal games on television.

    In 2016, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity released a study regarding the connection between women and sport in Canada. A couple of the facts revolved around media coverage.

    An analysis was done on Canada’s primary national sports networks in English and French in 2014. The study said only four per cent of the coverage on those networks was dedicated to women’s sports and over half of that number was dedicated to coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Media members work to get pictures of the U.S. team celebrations.

    A study was done on the Saturday sports section front pages in two of Canada’s highest circulated national newspapers from June 2008 to May 2010 and June 2013 to May 2015. Over those time frames, 5.1 per cent of the coverage was dedicated to women’s sports.

    Of course, that study only considered a small sampling size of the print industry.

    With that noted, TSN’s coverage of the 4 Nations Cup goes towards the time the media in Canada spends covering women’s sports.

    I covered all eight games at the 4 Nations Cup for my blog, because I wanted to. With the 4 Nations Cup being a toured in event, I didn’t expect to get many page views, because with being based in Saskatoon, I spent a very small amount of time covering international women’s hockey.

    That coverage is usually limited to local area athletes heading off to play for national teams or attend national team hockey camps.

    My only post that did well was a feature on Team Canada offensive-defender Jaime Bourbonnais. The page views for the rest of my 4 Nations Cup posts were some of the lowest page view totals I have had since starting this blog in late August of 2014.

    During the overall history of my blog, the majority of my top viewed posts involve women’s sports and female athletes, so the audience is there.

    Unfortunately, female sports still face an uphill battle with regards to media coverage. Female sports teams and athletes have to run with and make miles with seemly any coverage that comes their way, and if the coverage is deemed good, you have to really get the most out of it.

    It is almost like when the rock band Bon Jovi started out. If there was a ladder hanging over the crowd, someone in the band climbed it.

Personally, 4 Nations Cup was a great time

Team Canada celebrates Jaime Bourbonnais’s power-play goal.

    On a personal side, I have to say I enjoyed covering the 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon.

    It marked the first time I have covered an international women’s hockey tournament featuring senior national teams. The players from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden were super to deal with. They all came off and genuine and likeable.

    The staffs from all the competing teams were great to deal with. The communications staff at Hockey Canada were super to work with.

    During the tournament, it was cool to see so many people attend games who are involved with female hockey in Saskatchewan. I enjoyed seeing a number of faces from all over the province during games at the SaskTel Centre.
    Most of the rink staffers from games involving the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades were out reprising their identical roles at 4 Nations Cup. They allowed the game day experience to go on seamlessly.

Shannon Szabados makes a save in goal for Canada.

    Covering the tournament’s eight games over a five day period will be something I always remember, because it was unique to anything else that I have done. Now two days after the gold medal final has been played, I do have a bit of that natural down feeling, because the 4 Nations Cup is over.

    It might sound weird, but you should have that feeling if you had fun working an event. I had a great time covering the 4 Nations Cup.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Team Canada colours fit young Bourbonnais just fine

Jaime Bourbonnais has made a head turning debut with Canada’s senior national women’s team.

    Jaime Bourbonnais still has moments when she wonders if her time playing for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team has been real this past week.

    The Mississauga, Ont., product has been part of Canada’s national team system since 2014 going to camps and having played for the under-18 women’s team and the national women’s development team. Due to turning just 20-years-old in September, Bourbonnais thought she might still be too young to be placed on the senior national team.

Defender Jaime Bourbonnais plays in all situations for Canada.

    When she received an email from Hockey Canada saying she was going to be on the senior national team for the 4 Nations Cup, the skilled offensive defender believed the email might have been sent to her by mistake at first.

    The moment things really became surreal was when veteran offensive defender Laura Fortino presented Bourbonnais with her Team Canada jersey and said a glowing speech about her before the start of the 4 Nations Cup.

    “I think the biggest moment was having (Laura) Fortino present my jersey to me,” said Bourbonnais. “I’ve played with Team Canada before, but this moment was super special.

    “She was kind of my favourite player growing up, so having her present my jersey to me was very surreal.”

Jaime Bourbonnais stars with Cornell University.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, Bourbonnais, who stands 5-foot-7, played in all situations for Canada in a 3-0 victory over Finland to conclude preliminary round play. 
    Bourbonnais started on the ice for Canada, took a regular spot on the power play and was on the ice defending her own zone in the final minute of the third period, when Finland pulled goalie Noora Raty for an extra attacker looking to chip at Canada’s 2-0 edge.

    Bourbonnais, who plays for the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks, picked up her first point of the tournament drawing an assist on Laura Stacey’s empty-net goal to seal victory for Canada with 34.5 seconds to play in the third.

    With the win, Canada improves to 2-1 and qualifies for Saturday’s gold medal final against the United States (3-0). That contest is slated for 8 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Finland falls to 1-2 at the tournament with the setback and will play Sweden (0-3) in the bronze medal game. That contest is set for 3 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Defender Jaime Bourbonnais is sound in the defensive zone.

    In all three of Canada’s games at the 4 Nations Cup, Bourbonnais has played extensively for Canada and has looked like a poised veteran player in doing so. She credited Team Canada assistant coach Doug Derraugh, who is her head coach at Cornell, and her teammates for helping her get to this point.

    “Having such great players on the ice with me gives me a lot of confidence,” said Bourbonnais, whose grandfather, Roger, played for Canada’s senior national men’s hockey team in the 1960s. “I know that if I make a mistake they are going to be there to have my back.

    “Having my coach from Cornell back there has also really helped me. He believes in me so much, and I know that he trusts me out there. Having his belief and his support back there has really helped me gain some confidence.”

    Team Canada head coach Perry Pearn said Bourbonnais earned the chance to play extensively with the senior national women’s team, and the bench boss was confident the young rearguard would perform well.

Jaime Bourbonnais controls the point in the offensive zone.

    “I think you watch players, and you see what they do in practice,” said Pearn. “We’re not blind to what these players have done on their own club teams before we get here.

    “We’ve done fairly extensive scouting. From that, we have a pretty good idea what the player is. If Jaime (Bourbonnais) is going to be successful at this level, we’ve got to use her as an offensive player.

    “We’ve got to be able to play her in key situations. What better time than at a tournament like this is there to give her that opportunity and to show that kind of faith in her.”

    Pearn said Bourbonnais has graded out very high with her performance along with a number of other young players, who are playing on Canada’s senior national team for the first time.

    “I think she (Bourbonnais) has been very, very good,” said Pearn. “I think we’re really happy, and not just with Jaime (Bourbonnais), but I think with a lot of our young players who are experiencing the international game for the first time.

Team Canada celebrates an empty-net goal from Laura Stacey (#7)

    “One of the things we’ll come away from this irregardless of the result tomorrow is that we’ve found out that we’ve got more depth than we knew going into the tournament. I think that is a really important find.”

    For Bourbonnais, she hopes her time with the senior national team extends far into the future.

    “It is a huge honour to be selected to this team,” said Bourbonnais, who had three goals and 21 assists in 31 games with Cornell last season. “Growing up watching these players your whole life, you idolize them.

    “You want to be like them, and then you play alongside of them. It is like a dream, honestly. They are all super nice.

    “They all took me under their wing right away, so it has been a lot of fun.”

    In Friday’s game, Canada got the jump early on Finland scoring 85 seconds into the contest on a goal from Melodie Daoust.

Laura Stacey scored an empty-net goal for Canada.

    At the 4:55 mark of the opening frame, left-winger Rebecca Johnston made the score 2-0 in Canada’s favour scoring off a rebound chance.

    “We wanted to have a really good first five minutes,” said Pearn. “Getting in the early goal I think made a big difference that way and for the most part I think led to us controlling the game from there on.”

    For the rest of the contest, Canada had a number of big chances to increase its lead. Raty kept her side in the game turning away 45-of-47 shots sent her way.

    Emerance Maschmeyer turned away 14 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for Canada.

Stacey’s empty-net tally inside of the final minute of the third erased any lingering doubts about what the final outcome may have been.

Melodie Daoust scored Canada’s first goal on Friday.

    Now, Bourbonnais will suit up for Canada’s senior national women’s team in a tournament final against the United States, which will be shown live on TSN. The U.S. downed Canada 2-1 in a preliminary round game on Wednesday thanks to a late third period goal.

    Bourbonnais said that first encounter with the U.S. was everything she expected it to be. She gets chills thinking about what it will be like to take part in one of the greatest rivalries in sports in a gold medal game.

    “I’m nervous I will be honest,” said Bourbonnais. “Playing the U.S., they are the best team I have ever played against.

    “They are fast and strong. They are all good. There is not a single weakness in their game I don’t think.

The Team Canada players salute the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    “I think just going out there with confidence and trusting my teammates and believing in our team, (and) I think playing our game we will be able to do some fun stuff tomorrow.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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U.S.A. stuns Canada on Brodt’s tally at 4 Nations Cup

Sydney Brodt celebrates scoring the winning goal for the United States against Canada.

    The glow radiating from the smile on Sydney Brodt’s face gave away how much it means to players on the United States senior women’s hockey team to win rivalry games against Canada.

    One of the greatest rivalries in sports took centre stage at the 4 Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament on Wednesday night as Canada battled the U.S.A. in a compelling encounter at the SaskTel Centre. 

    With 1:48 remaining in the third period and the two sides locked in a 1-1 draw, Brodt drove hard down the left wing towards the Canadian net and the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Brianna Decker deflected off her chest into the Canadian goal.

Shannon Szabados makes one of her 31 saves in goal for Canada.

    That tally gave the States a 2-1 victory. For the 20-year-old Brodt, who is making her debut with the U.S. senior national women’s hockey during the 4 Nations Cup, the goal provided a big highlight moment.

    “It was awesome,” said Brodt. “I was just in the right place at the right time.

    “My linemate Kendall Coyne (Schofield) kind of retrieved the puck high in the zone and gave it to Decker, who got a nice shot. I was just there on the backdoor.

    “It went right off me and went into the net, so it was fun to get it.”

    Brodt’s goal helped the U.S. improve to 2-0 at the tournament and clinch a berth in Saturday’s gold medal game. The U.S. closes preliminary round play with a 3 p.m. match on Friday against Sweden (0-2).

Hannah Brandt scored the first goal for the U.S. on Wednesday night.

    Canada concludes preliminary round play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Finland in a battle of 1-1 teams, where the winner advances to play the U.S. for gold. All games at the 4 Nations Cup are behind held at the SaskTel Centre.

    Canada head coach Perry Pearn said Brodt’s third period goal was a tough one to take, but it didn’t make the difference in the game.

    “It is frustrating,” said Pearn. “I just told the group in the dressing room I didn’t think we lost the game on the last goal.

    “We lost the game on the first goal. We knew we had to have a good start. We talked about having a good first five minutes, and we didn’t.

Loren Gabel scored for Canada in the third period on Wednesday.

    “We kind of gave the U.S. the momentum. When they have the momentum, they play really well. We were on our heels for the first 20 minutes.”

    The States drew first blood just 78 seconds into the contest. During a flurry of action around the Canadian net, U.S. centre Hannah Brandt banged home a rebound to give her side a 1-0 edge.

    Canada was outshot 16-4 over the first 20 minutes and could have been down by a greater margin, but thanks to the stellar work of star netminder Shannon Szabados, the States lead stayed at one goal.

    “They came out early and threw a few pucks on net,” said Szabados. “As the game went on, we looked a lot more comfortable especially in their end.

    “I think we generated quite a bit in the second and a lot in the third there. We just kind of learn from it and carry that moving forward.”

    After an evenly played second period, Canada tied things up at 1-1 at the 3:30 mark of the third, when winger Loren Gabel buried a shot from the front of the U.S. net after receiving a nice centring pass from linemate Kristin O’Neill.

Hilary Knight breaks into the offensive zone for the U.S.

    That set the stage for Brodt’s winner near the end of the frame. U.S. head coach Bob Corkum was pleased to see Brodt get the deciding goal for his side.

   “It was great,” said Corkum. “She has been playing fantastic.

    “She brings a nice speed element along with skill. She is very courageous and competes well on the puck. She is going to be a nice player for us.”

    Szabados made 31 stops in goal for Canada. Alex Rigsby turned away 23 shots in goal for the States.

    Brodt said she enjoyed taking part in Wednesday’s rivalry clash with Canada and is looking forward to the U.S.’s final two games at the 4 Nations Cup.

    “I think we learned a lot of things playing against them just kind of the way they play their systems,” said Brodt. “It was the first time for me playing senior national team, so it was nice to get a feel for the pace and everything and just get better every day as the week goes on.”

    If the highly predicted showdown between Canada and the U.S. materializes in Saturday’s gold medal match, Pearn would like to see his side do a better job at getting pucks deep in the U.S. zone.

The Canadian players contemplate their setback to the U.S. on Wednesday.

    “Against a good defence, I don’t care what level of hockey you are playing you have to put pucks behind them,” said Pearn. “I thought early on we tried to make plays, and now you turn the puck over.

    “Now, you are back on your heels again. The first five minutes, assuming we get a chance to play them again, we have to get pucks behind them and give ourselves a chance to get on the forecheck a little bit and make them go back and find some pucks. I think, when we did that, they looked vulnerable too.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Canada smashes Sweden to open 4 Nations Cup

Marie-Philip Poulin (#29) checks Swede Hanna Olsson.

    The tune-up went as good as it could for Canada before the road gets tougher at the 4 Nations Cup.

    On Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre, Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team opened play at the annual tourney with a 6-1 romp over Sweden, while holding a 52-18 edge in shots on goal. The Canadian side had too much depth for the Swedish side to handle.

    “I think we did play well,” said Canadian right-winger Melodie Daoust. “We do still have things to tighten up.

    “Especially in our D-zone, we just need to be more honest with ourselves and stay D-side a little bit more. I think that is going to come throughout the tournament as we go and learn to play together.

Melodie Daoust (#15) had two goals and an assist for Canada.

    “I think we did a very good job to start the tournament, but obviously, we still need to improve, and that is what Canada is all about. We need to improve every time we are on the ice.”

    Daoust had a pair of goals and an assist for Canada on Tuesday, while linemate Rebecca Johnston had four assists. Daoust netted an absolute beauty at the 6:37 mark of the third period.

    Working in the offensive zone, the Valleyfield, Que., product collected the puck behind Sweden’s net and quickly went backhand to forehand to net her second tally of the game into the open right side of the goal. That marker put Canada up 6-0.

    “I saw the little hole there,” said Daoust about her third-period goal. “I thought I was going to try it, and it worked. It was good.”

Canada celebrates a first period goal from Melodie Daoust.

    Canada methodically built a 3-0 lead in the first period. At the 8:56 mark of the opening frame, Canadian right-winger Laura Stacey banked home a beauty setup pass from defender Renata Fast on a two-on-one short-handed break to give Canada a 1-0 lead.

    Daoust netted her first of the game, and 18-year-old centre Sarah Fillier netted a single to give Canada a 3-0 edge heading into the first intermission. Canada head coach Perry Pearn said the Swedes did make things challenging for his side through the first 30 minutes.

    “We’ve watch Sweden practice, but we haven’t seen them play,” said Pearn. “We weren’t sure exactly what to expect from them.

    “Their first period, I think they impressed me with some of the things they did. They played a very good trap. It took us a little while to adjust to that, but I thought after a while, we handled the trap fairly well.

    “As we did that, we put more pressure on them in their end. I thought our third period was our best period, so I thought we adapted fairly well.”

    Pearn was pleased to get solid efforts from younger players like Fillier, 20-year-old defender Jaime Bourbonnais, 21-year-old winger Loren Gabel and 22-year-old centre Victoria Bach.

Rebecca Johnston had four assists for Canada.

    Due to the flu bug, Pearn said the Canadian side sent some players back to the hotel before Tuesday’s game started.  

    “The lineup went from having one extra forward dressed, having 13 forwards, to finishing off the game playing with 10,” said Pearn. “Certainly, the youngsters handled themselves well.”

    Canada’s lead expanded to 4-0 in the second period on a goal from Laura Fortino. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored at the 3:48 mark of the third to increase Canada’s edge to 5-0 and set the stage for Daoust’s second goal.

    Sweden finally broke through on the scoreboard with 3:09 to play in the third with a power-play goal from Emma Nordin, who tipped home a point shot from defender Emmy Alasalmi.

    Shannon Szabados turned away 17 shots to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Lovisa Selander turned away 46 shots taking the setback in goal for Sweden.

    Sweden returns to action on Wednesday, when they face Finland at 3 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    With the tournament opener out of the way, Canada turns its focus to the anticipated heavyweight match with the United States set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. 

Sarah Filler, an 18-year-old centre, scored for Canada on Tuesday.

    That encounter will mark the first time Canada and the U.S. have faced each other since the States claimed a 3-2 victory after a tiebreaking shootout in the goal medal final at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, last February.

    Daoust said the Canadian side kept their focus on the opener against Sweden and tried not to get ahead of themselves in thinking about the U.S.

    “We try to stay in the present,” said Daoust. “We just finished our game, so obviously, we’re focusing on the U.S. now.

    “I think recovery tonight is going to be really important for us to play a big game tomorrow. We need to be ready. I think we have the group to play against them.”

Clark issues statement on missing 4 Nations Cup due to injury

Emily Clark seen at the SaskTel Centre last Thursday.

    Saskatoon product Emily Clark issued a statement through Hockey Canada on Tuesday night regarding her disappointment in not being able to participate in the 4 Nations Cup.

    The 22-year-old forward on Canada’s senior national women’s team injured her left leg while playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Her injury occurred in the opening minutes of a Badgers 4-2 home win on Oct. 13 against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

    “Although I am disappointed I am unable to play in the 4 Nations Cup, I am far more excited for my hometown and my teammates,” said Clark in the statement. “I could not be more proud to be from Saskatoon, and I’m thrilled that our journey to the 2022 Olympics is starting here.

    “I’ve told me teammates to expect great support from the fans, and I will be cheering along with the rest of Canada and following every step of the way.”

    Clark helped Canada win a silver medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea. She is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA hockey team.

    Before the 4 Nations Cup started, Clark made a public appearance at the home game of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades last Thursday. Last Saturday, she made a public appearance and was on hand for pre-game ceremonies as the Stars played their first Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season contest at Merlis Belsher Place.

    “Our focus and priority is Emily’s health, and in working with Emily and her team, we feel that it is in her best interest to return to school for treatment and to stay on top of her studies,” said Canada’s director for women’s national teams Gina Kingsbury in the statement. “We are disappointed she will not have the opportunity to play in her hometown, but we know she is excited for the experience that is in front of our team.

    “It is always special to put on the Team Canada jersey, play on Canadian soil, and we look forward to the tournament this week.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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