‘Come out hard against Russia’

In a short tournament that turns i nto a singleelimination format after the round robin, a similar outcome is possible. But before that can happen, the Canadians have to clean up their game. Canada has started each of its two games sluggishly, with the U. S. and Finland both scoring first. The team is not shooting enough, not skating enough, not playing with the urgency, aggression or confidence that typifies Canadian teams.

Against the U. S., Canada was caught on its heels for most of the game. Against Finland, Canada let its opponent dictate the pace.

“I think we see flashes of ( our identity),” said forward Sarah Davis. “Yesterday (Saturday) wasn’t a bad game. Obviously we can play better, but we showed a lot of flashes of greatness yesterday.”

“Finland’s a great team and we’ve battled them hard in the past,” added Bailey Bram. “They play their systems well and they play hard. Their goalie played great yesterday. It was a good test for us. I’m glad we had it early on in the tournament than down the road.’’

Canada took Sunday off to “recharge and reflect” after the back- to- back losses. The players did not look down or sullen. Rather, with the country’s history of success, they remain optimistic that they will be able to bring their best against Russia, a team that defeated Finland 2-1 but lost 7- 0 to the Americans, on Monday.

“It’s not like we’re out of the tournament or the world’s ending,” said Bram. “We’re down, we’re down two games, but it’s a new day. We’re going to come out hard against Russia.”