Canada storms back to dump Finns in opener
Hosts take small measure of revenge with dominant win at world tournament
If there was any team that Canada could have picked to open up the 2021 IIHF world women's hockey championship, chances are it would be Finland.
After all, this is the team that put a wrench in their plans at the 2019 world tournament, handing Canada a loss in the semifinal.
And yet, after not having played an international game since February 2020, any opponent would have been a welcome sight.
“To be honest, it's hard to put into words,” said a smiling Marie-philip Poulin. “Just watching the video before the game, and they said the world championships are finally open, to be honest it gave me shivers. We've been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
It took the Canadians a bit of time to find its footing, but when they did, they rolled to a dominant 5-3 triumph over Finland on Friday at Winsport Arena.
Sarah Fillier scored the winner at 7:38 of the third period and an empty-netter by Brianne Jenner in the final minute sealed the deal. The same teams had already met in a pre-tournament game, with Canada winning 4-1.
Finland opened the scoring at 2:07 of the first period, coming out of the gate with some jump.
A point shot by Nelli Laitinen — with teammate Matilda Nilsson on goalie Ann-renee Desbiens' doorstep — made it 1-0 for the ladies in blue and white.
Penalties reared their ugly head for Canada and soon they found themselves down two skaters and two goals. Minnamari Tuominen slapped the puck past Desbiens at the 6:05 mark and Canada had dug an early hole.
At that point, the Canadians began taking the game to the Finns. But they weren't as accurate in their shooting as they may have liked, while Anni Keisala stood tall in the net. Canada outshot Finland 7-6 through 20 minutes.
Keisala continued to be a thorn in her opponent's side for much of the second stanza. But the Finns had a tough time getting out of their own zone in that frame, hence the 26-2 Canadian shot advantage, and eventually it took a toll.
“First of all, we're playing maybe the world's best team right now in Canada,” said Finland's head coach Pasi Mustonen, “and when they get the momentum ... that's why we ended up in our own zone and we were really run over by them.
“They try to play the same way all the time. At the beginning, we played a wonderful period. All games go in waves, and meeting a super team, which Canada is, I wasn't at all surprised.”
It was on the 25th shot of the game that Canada finally solved Keisala, Jamie Rattray scoring on a mad scramble in front of the net. Then, on the squad's 26th shot, the veteran Poulin snapped the puck into the net from the slot, and it was game on once again.
“I don't think we entered the offensive zone even once in the second period,” said Tuominen. “We needed to focus on getting out of our zone and getting the puck deep.”
Canada kept up the pace in the third. It continued to apply pressure and a shot tipped by Erin Ambrose at 2:41 put Canada ahead for the first time in the contest.
But Finland wouldn't quit. A nice tip-in by Elisa Holopainen eluded Desbiens, who no doubt suffered from inactivity, as that was just the 11th shot on her net.
Canada regained the lead 25 seconds later when a lunging Fillier knocked the puck into the Finnish net.
The Canadian dominance was evident by the shot margin, 48-11. The Finns managed just five shots in the last two periods.
In the opening game of the tournament, the Czech Republic downed Denmark by a 6-1 score. Captain Alena Mills had the hat trick for the Czechs, with Kristyna Patkova, Dominika Laskova and Vendula Pribylova adding singles. Josefine Persson had the lone Dane tally.
The USA faced Switzerland in the late game.