American women get best of Canada again at Four Nations Cup hockey tournament

WESLEY CHAPEL, Florida — The Americans showed off their special teams skills in beating Canada for the second time in three games as part of their pre-Olympic exhibition tour.

Kendall Coyne and Megan Bozek each had a goal and an assist and the United States women’s hockey team beat Canada 4-2 on Wednesday night in a physical game at the Four Nations Cup.

Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter each had power-play goals as the Americans went 3-for-5 with the advantage. Brianna Decker had two assists, and goalie Maddie Rooney made 20 saves for her second win in two nights with the Americans trying to win this event for a third straight time and eighth overall.

“We did so many things right, it’s a great thing to build off of,” U.S. coach Robb Stauber said.

Rebecca Johnston and Meghan Agosta scored for Canada, which went 1-for-9 on the power play. The Canadians did not dress Jennifer Wakefield, who had a hat trick and an assist Tuesday night in a 9-0 win over Sweden. Coach Laura Schuler said Wakefield usually is a part of the power play, but Canada still is busy evaluating players before roster cuts for the 2018 Winter Games.

“Our special teams didn’t get the job done tonight,” Schuler said. “Our power play didn’t produce like how we would like them to, and our penalty kill at the same time wasn’t as successful as we have been in the past. I think we need to shoot more and get more pucks through.”

The Americans took the first game 5-2 in Quebec City, and Barnes was in the stands watching when Canada evened it up with a 5-1 win in Boston on Oct. 25.