Ice Hockey IIHF World Championships 2017

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WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Russia - United States  0-7

 

Patient U.S. wins again

Playmaking gems swamp Russia, 7-0

 

Team USA scored three goals in the second period--two by Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson--en route to an impressive 7-0 win over Russia.

 

The theme of the day was quick, crisp passes and nice touch around the goal. Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker had two goals and two assists each while Monique Lamoureux chipped in with three assists.

 

Maddie Rooney, making her first career start in goal for Team USA, made 14 saves to record the shutout.

 

"It's so much different than college," a beaming Rooney said. "It was really exciting. I just loved it out there. When you don't have so many shots, it's important to try to stay focused, and I think I did that."

 

"We know if we move our feet and get going a lot of teams can't keep up with us," Decker said. "All our lines are moving the puck well and getting shots on net."

 

The win gives the U.S. six points to top the Group A standings and virtually assures the team of a bye directly to the semi-finals next week.

Russia falls to 1-1 and has three points in Group A. But for a bit of luck and touch around the opposition goal, though, this might have been a different game. The Americans were their usual speedy selves, but they did allow several odd-man rushes and good scoring chances to the Russians.

 

"We had a bit of a slow start but picked it up in the second and third," Coyne admitted. "We worked together as a team and it was a fun game to play."

 

"We have to learn from this and play better the next game," Russian Iya Gavrilova said. "We still have a long way to go in this tournament."

The Russians started the game by clogging up the middle of the ice, and for most of the opening period that strategy worked. Momentum changed near the end of the period, though. Russia had a two-man advantage for 1:29 but could do nothing with it, and soon after the Americans returned to full strength drew first blood.

 

The goal came at 18:37 thanks to Amanda Kessel. Monique Lamoureux had a clear break and was stopped by Maria Sorokina, but Kessel followed up on the play and jabbed the rebound home.

 

The second period was loaded with action and plays around the goals. Olga Sosina set up Yekaterina Smolentseva for a great chance alone, but Rooney squeezed the pads and made a nice save. Soon after, Gavrilova was also denied by the goalie off an odd-man rush.

 

The Americans increased their lead at 12:08 on a similar pass-and-shoot combination. Brianna Decker came in on the rush and made a nice dish to the middle for Coyne. Coyne made no mistake, burying the puck for a 2-0 lead.

 

Less than a minute later, Lamoureux-Davidson wired a great shot over Sorokina's glove, making up for a great toe save by the goalie on her a short time earlier. 

 

Nina Pirogova had a clear break soon after, but she was thwarted by Rooney, who wasn't always busy but who was tested by tough shots all the same.

 

"We had a lot of chances that period," Gavrilova said. "It would have been nice to put a couple in. It would have been a different game. We played well in the first as well, but we have to play more disciplined."

 

The Americans salted the game away with a fourth goal with only 28.3 seconds left in the middle period, Lamoureux-Davidson making a nice deke before tucking the puck into the open cage.

 

Brianna Decker added a fifth goal at 9:15 of the third, this off another fine pass from Hilary Knight to set up the clear shot.

 

Coyne and Decker added their second goals in the final minute to boost the final tally.

 

 

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Switzerland - Sweden  1-2

 

 

 

 

 

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Switzerland - Sweden  1-2

 

Sweden back in it with win

Johansson scores 2-1 winner in third

 

Lisa Johansson scored on a 5-on-3 early in the third to give penalty-free Sweden a crucial 2-1 win over Switzerland in Group B play.

 

"I was on the goal line and got a pass from our defenceman at the blue line and took the puck hard to the net," Johansson explained. "I shot it high on the short side and it went in."

 

Johansson squeaked the puck past Swiss goalie Florence Schelling who was making her record 23rd straight start, having played every minute of every game for the Swiss going back to the 2013 Women's Worlds.

 

Hannah Olsson, the 18-year-old who played at the U18 in January, had a goal and assist for the winners.

 

Nicole Bullo got the only Swiss goal in a game in which the Swedes held a 24-15 advantage in shots.

 

The win puts Sweden in second place of Group B with three points, three behind surprising Germany and one ahead of the Swiss. The Czechs are in last place with a single point.

 

"We had a lot of chances, but we couldn't score more than one goal," said Bullo. "We pressured them at the end, but it didn't work, so now we have to look ahead to our next game. We want to make the quarter-finals, but that's not in our hands any more. We have to win on Monday and then see what happens with Sweden and the Czechs. "

 

The Swedes opened the scoring on an unassisted goal by Olsson, and that marker held up for the nest 28 minutes of play. Bullo tied the game at 13:25 of the second on a scramble.

 

"It was a rebound," she said. "There were a lot of players in the crease, but I found the loose puck and was able to put it in."

 

"It was a tight game," Johansson said. "We played well on defence, though, and didn't give them much room in our end. They're good on the counter attack. They're fast, but we played well and kept them away from our goal."

 

The Swiss incurred all 18 penalty minutes in the game, including 12 minutes in the first to Phoebe Staenz, a minor and misconduct. The Swedes scored on the last of their four power plays when it mattered most, and that proved the difference.

 

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Canada - Finland  3-4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WTF CANADA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

but FINLAAAAAAND wow wow wowwwwwwwwwwwwww

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Canada - Finland  3-4

 

FINLAND MAKES HISTORY

"Ihme" on ice as Canada loses, 4-3

 

For the first time in IIHF competition, Canada has lost a game to a country other than the United States. Finland's 4-3 win was the result of confidence.

 

Ronja Savolainen intercepted a clearing attempt along the boards and fired a quick shot that beat Genevieve Lacasse to the short side with only 101 seconds left in regulation time. It broke a 3-3 tie, and for the first time in 21 head-to-head meetings, going back to 1990, Finland had defeated Canada.

 

"When I got the puck, I just thought I had to shoot," Savolainen said. "There were a lot of players in front of their goalie, and when it went in, it was like 'yes!' We felt good before the game. We knew we could win."

 

When asked what the Finnish word for "miracle" was, 43-year-old Riikka Valila beamed, "Ihme!"

 

The win was especially impressive because three times the Finns took the lead, and three times Canada tied the game quickly. But the Finns would not break on this night.

 

"Every time they got a lead, we were giving them confidence," Canada's Rebecca Johnston noted. "We needed to swarm them and take that confidence away, but we didn't."

 

"The key was that we pressured them all the time," goalie Noora Raty suggested. "Our plan was to skate more than they did, and I think we did a good job with that. And we scored goals. Uusually we get one or two. We knew if we could pressure their defence, they'd turn the puck over. We weren't sitting back."

 

The result has put the Group A standings in a state of flux they've never been in. The USA is on top with six points, Finland and Russia are now second with three, and Canada, no wins and two losses, is in last place.

 

The win was the culmination of several factors. First, a confidence in their team, and a belief in their coach, Pasi Mustonen, who is in his third year as head coach.

 

Second, superior goaltending. Noora Raty is among the best women goalies in the world, whie at the other end the duo of Emerance Maschmeyer and Genevieve Lacasse did not have their best games. Indeed, the last time Canada pulled its goalie to a European team was February 17, 2010, at the Vancouver Olympics, and even then it was because the score was 13-0 over Sweden and coach Mel Davidson merely wanted to give the tandem of Kim St. Pierre and Charline Labonte a bit of work.

 

"We came out flat," a disconsolate Johnston noted of Canada's start to the game. "We need to get that first goal and put them on their heels. We missed that. We came back three times, but it wasn't enough. We have to dig deeper."

 

Although Canada dominated the opening period, it was the Finns that got the opening goal. That came off a bad clearing attempt by Brianne Jenner, who tried going up the middle with a pass from deep in her corner. Susanna Tapani intercepted and fired a quick shot, and Sanni Hakala made a beautiful deflection past Maschmeyer at 18:42.

 

Canada responded right away. Johnston took a shot off the rush which Raty kicked aside, but the puck landed on the stick of Erin Ambrose who made no mistake with the rebound.

 

The Finns took another lead just 61 seconds into the second period on an early power play. Petra Nieminen skated off the boards with room to spare and fired a shot to the short side that Maschmeyer misjudged. Just like that Suomi was proving itself a worthy adversary this night.

 

But almost as quickly as in the first, Canada repsonded. The women moved the puck around in rhe Finnish end, and Blayre Turnbull wound up with a shot from the slot. She wired a drive over the shoulder of Raty at 4:21 to even the score, 2-2.

 

Incredibly, the Finns answered right back, Tapani knocking in a loose puck at 6:49. That goal spelled the end for Maschmeyer, who was replaced by Lacasse. The change had to be made, but the Canadians were still reeling. Finland almost scored a fourth goal, and Canada recovered later to create some good chances of its own, but by the intermission the scoreline was still shocking--Finland 3, Canada 2.

 

Canada wasted no time in tying the game in the third, though. Johnston came down her off wing on a two-on-one and fired a shot between Raty's pads just 36 seconds in, tying the game for a third time. That was the last goal for the Canadians.

 

"This is huge, especially for the younger players," Raty concluded. "We've been close before, but just close. Now we've done it. We know we can do it again."

 

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Czech Republic - Germany  1-2

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

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Russia - United States  0-7

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

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Switzerland - Sweden  1-2

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

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WOMEN'S

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Canada - Finland  3-4

HIGHLIGHTS