Gold drought snapped
Caroline Ouellette’s OT goal lifts Canada over rival U.S., leading women’s squad to first world championship in five years,
BURLINGTON, VT.— Tired of silver at the women’s world hockey championship, Canada’s veteran players led them to gold.
Caroline Ouellette scored her second goal of the game 1:50 into overtime to give Canada a 5-4 win over the U.S. on Saturday. Canada may have won Olympic gold in 2010, but it was the country’s first world title since 2007 in Winnipeg. The U.S. beat them in three straight finals after that, including an overtime victory last year in Switzerland.
“We were really sick of silver …” Ouellette said. “They have an amazing team and it’s who is going to be better on any given day. Tonight, we wanted to make sure that it was us.”
A bad line change by the U.S. gave Canada an edge on the rush. Ouellette took a pass from Meghan Agosta and fired a shot past U.S. goaltender Molly Schaus to close the latest chapter of the long history between the North American rivals.
“(Tessa Bonhomme) made the play of the game on that,” Ouellette said. “She saw I was coming off the bench, she went to the net and brought everyone with her. I yelled as loud as I could.
“I think Meghan Agosta was about to shoot and she heard me. She passed to me and Tessa Bonhomme was in front of the goalie and she didn’t see anything. I just had to shoot.”
Canadian captain Hayley Wickenheiser scored short-handed in the first period. Assistant captains Ouellette and Jayna Hefford also scored. Those three forwards are the longest-serving players in Canada’s current lineup. Two-time Olympian Agosta scored a power-play goal late in the third period to send it into extra time. She also had a pair of assists. “The veterans players, we stepped up and led the way,” Wickenheiser said. “We’ve been in these battles a long time and it was weighing on us, the losses from the years previous and none of us wanted to see that happen again.” Goaltender Shannon Szabados made 40 saves in the victory. The Americans fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the second period with three unanswered power-play goals. Gigi Marvin scored twice, with Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker adding goals for the hosts. Schaus stopped 34 of 39 shots. Wickenheiser and rookie defenceman Laura Fortino were named to the tournament all-star team. The U.S. and Canada have met in the final of all 14 world championships starting in 1990. Canada took its worst beating ever from the U.S. in a 9-2 loss to open the tournament. The Americans scored five goals in the first five minutes and 32 seconds and so thoroughly dominated Canada that the U.S. seemed the clear favourite. The visitors were ready to match their pace in the final, however. They blocked shots and kept the U.S. from getting to the rebounds they’d turned into goals in the first game. The Canadians also did a better job of slowing the Americans down through the neutral zone. It was quickly apparent this would be another in a long line of fast, hard and mean games between the rivals, to the delight of 4,000 filling the University of Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Fighting Catamount band provided a college football feel. The 2013 championship will be held in Ottawa.