Canada in top form against Russia

JPlymouth, Mich. enn Wakefield was back to being a bully on Monday.

It was midway through the first period of an 8-0 win against Russia when the Team Canada power forward took a pass in the slot and blasted a shot through two pairs of legs for her first goal of the women’s world hockey championship here.

A couple of minutes later, Wakefield absorbed a hit at the side of the net and banged in a rebound.

“I just cleaned up the garbage, as they say,” she said.

It was the kind of no-nonsense game that Canada had been searching for after back-to-back losses to the U.S. and Finland to start the tournament. For the 5-foot-10 and 172-pound Wakefield, it was the only game she really knows how to play.

As one of the bigger players in women’s hockey — only Canada’s Natalie Spooner weighs more — Wakefield is like Gulliver among the Lilliputians. She plays a heavy game, modelled after watching the Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds. In a sport where body checking is forbidden, but body contact is allowed, Wakefield is a dangerous asset.

“She’s a big player,” said linemate Meghan Agosta. “Nobody’s going to move her.”

Against the women, this is true. Against the men, Wakefield found it was a little different.

The Pickering, Ont., native first went over to play against women in Sweden right after winning gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. A year later, she was asked if she would also play for the men’s team in the third division.

All of a sudden, Wakefield’s biggest asset was gone. The big power forward was now one of the smaller players on the ice.

“I’m a pretty small forward with the guys, so you have to kind of play a smaller forward role. But it helped that I had really big wingers that made sure none of the guys took liberties with me,’’ Wakefield remembers. “It was fun. It’s something I would never change.”

In Sweden, Wakefield didn’t exactly shy away from contact. After all, bodychecking is part of the men’s game. But she did learn to pick her spots.

“Maybe the SHL is different than the NHL, but when you get to the lower leagues, there is quite a bit of hitting,” said Wakefield. “I held my own. I’m 5-foot-10 and pretty heavy for a girl. So it’s not like I’m 5-feet. I threw my body around, but I’m not going to go out and throw a massive open-ice hit and fight a guy to get the team going, right. So I didn’t do that.’’

With Canada, Wakefield is taking a similar approach. She got into penalty trouble during the first two games, but was able to walk the line against Russia. Playing on a line with Agosta and the 5-foot-7, 170-pound Haley Irwin, the three forwards gave the Russian defence fits.

“Playing with Irwin and Agosta really helps,” said Wakefield. “Agosta creates a lot of space with her speed and Irwin’s a really big body down low.”

It was during a cycle play down that led to Canada’s first goal. With Irwin parked in front of the net with a block-out-the-sun type of screen, Wakefield was allowed to fire a shot that the Russian goalie never saw. The fact that Wakefield has one of the hardest shots on the team made it even more unstoppable.

“Her shot is so dangerous,” said head coach Laura Schuler. “I think we have one of the smartest players playing with her in Haley Irwin. I think she does such a good job in making sure there’s a net presence for us.”

“She’s a very skilled player,” said Agosta. “Her hands alone are unbelievable. I always tell her, if you shoot the puck nobody’s going to stop it.”

Well, that depends. While the goalie usually has no clue where the puck is going, Irwin joked that sometimes Wakefield doesn’t either. “I was lucky today I only got hit by one (shot),” said Irwin, laughing. “Some days you get hit by more. I had a little chat with her to keep it lower.”

Canada opened round robin play Saturday with a victory over Switzerland. Wins over Russia and Sweden followed on Day 2.

Gushue was scheduled to play American John Shuster on Monday night. Round robin play continues through Thursday. The Page play- offs begin Friday and the medal games are scheduled for Sunday.

Canada’s Kevin Koe won gold at the 2016 world championship in Basel, Switzerland. Koe lost to Gushue in the final of the Tim Hortons Brier last month in St. John’s.

Gushue won Olympic gold at the 2006 Turin Games. This is his first career appearance at the men’s world championship.