Canadians rest up ahead of back-to-back battles
N.Y. Rested bodies, but prepared minds, was the goal for the Canadian women’s hockey team Friday.
The Canadians stayed off the ice, but engaged in intensive boardroom chalk talks ahead of Saturday’s world championship semifinal against Czechia, as well as a Sunday game they want to be for the gold medal.
“You always have gold-medal day in mind,” Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan said. “It’s always a juggling match between what’s best for you today and tomorrow and how does it impact or potentially impact your gold medal?”
Defending champion United States meets Finland in Saturday afternoon’s semifinal followed by Canada versus the Czechs, the 2022 and 2023 bronze medallists, in the evening.
With the medal games Sunday, Canada will end the tournament the way it began, playing back-toback games in less than 24 hours.
The Canadians will also play two games in as many days for a third time in the tournament. Friday was their fourth no-skate day since the 12-day tournament began.
“If you’re tired, your head’s not in it,” Ryan said. “You can get more out of having a well-rested athlete that’s mentally clear, who understands the concepts we’re trying to teach, or trying to get out of our games, than a tired athlete that had a chance to practise it for 20 minutes.”
Instead of a team meeting, coaches met with forward lines and defensive pairings separately for more detailed breakdowns. “It can be a little bit more directed, so the situations we’re talking about aren’t just team concepts, but they’re things that line has experienced throughout this event,” Ryan said.
Czechia is coached by former Canadian team defender Carla MacLeod. The two-time Olympic gold medallist will coach against her former team in a world championship playoff game for the first time Saturday.
Canada blanked the Czechs 5-0 in a Group A game earlier in the tournament, with Ann-Renée Desbiens posting the 13-save shutout.
“I found parts of our Czechia game were exactly what we would want from our players,” Ryan said. “There were parts where there was relentless pressure on the puck, almost like a hunting down and having good stick details, but the once we got possession there seemed to be a little bit of a calm, or a patience with it.”
Canada’s goal-scoring is spread among a dozen players. Kristin O’Neill is the team’s points leader with two goals and three assists. Defender Renata Fast is the leading goal scorer with three.
Canada has outscored its opposition 17-3, but a 1-0 overtime loss to the U.S. at the end of the preliminary round indicated more is needed.
“We have lots to work on still and we know we have better in us,” Canadian forward Laura Stacey said. “Being a united team, being a team that is strong from the very top to the very bottom, that’s how you’re going to win championships.”