It’s do-or-die for Team Canada
Traditional women’s hockey power faces Russia sporting 0-2 record
The morning after what might have been the worst — if not most shocking — loss in the history of Canadian women’s hockey, the players pulled back the curtains and discovered the sun had come up again. That was the simple message delivered from head coach Laura Schuler after Canada lost 4-3 to Finland, the first time it’s happened at the world women’s hockey championship.
That, coupled with a 2-0 loss to the United States in their inaugural game on Friday, puts Canada in uncharted territory at 0-2.
Normally, the women’s team breezes through tournaments like these and only get challenged when it faces the U.S. But even if Canada defeats Russia on Monday, there is a chance the Canadians will not receive the usual bye through to the semifinals. For once, there is adversity.
“I think disappointed is a good word,” said goalie Shannon Szabados. “But at the same time I think coach Schuler said it best, we woke up this morning and pulled the curtains and the sun was shining. It’s a new day. We play hockey, because it’s fun but also because it’s a challenge. It would be pretty boring if you played every game without that happening.”
When asked if she ever faced a situation like this with the national team, which has gold in each of the past four Olympics and reached the final in every single world championship, Szabados smiled.
Not really, she said. Although the last time Canada won the world championship, the team had lost 9-2 to the U.S. in the round robin.
“That wasn’t fun either,” said Szabados. “So there’s some similarities there. (Back then, the U.S.) just came out flying and we were on our heels the whole game. They just caught us off guard. But we won in the end.”
In a short tournament that turns into a single-elimination format after the round—robin, a similar outcome is possible. But before that can happen, the Canadians have to clean up many aspects of their game.
The team 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.’’
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 a new day,” said Davis. “We weren’t happy with the outcome of last night, but it will show a true testament to our character and I know we’ll be able to bounce back.”
“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. I wouldn’t count us out.”