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WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Medal Match United States OT3 - 2 Canada Period-by-Period: 1-1, 0-0, 1-1, OT: 1-0 April 7th 2017, h. 19:35, USA Hockey Arena 1, Plymouth USA wins first gold at home Knight blasts overtime winner at 10:17 Hilary Knight blocked a shot inside her blue line, moved the puck up to Kendall Coyne, and converted Coyne's drop shot to give the U.S. a 3-2 win over Canada. The goal came midway through an exhilarating overtime. It's the eighth gold for the Americans in the last ten Women's Worlds but the first ever on home ice. Canada has not won gold now since 2012 in Burlington, Vermont. Knight also scored the overtime winner in 2011 in Switzerland. "The last time we played at home we lost to them in Vermont, and we didn't want that feeling again," said defenceman Kacey Bellamy, who scored the Americans' two goals in regulation. "The support we've had the last few weeks has been incredible, so we wanted to win this for the fans." "I was just thinking, 'I have to block this shot,' and then I was thinking, 'I have to get it to Kendall,' because she's fast as hell," Knight described. "She created a lot of separation for me, so I just kind of filled in behind her and took the shot." "She got the puck up to me and I just rushed in with speed," Coyne said. "I knew Hil was right behind me. When you have the best player in the world behind you, you get her the puck." The 5-on-5 overtime period was nothing short of heart-pounding. Canada killed an early penalty and made a goal-line clearing earlier, and had its own chances to score, but in the end it was a mistake at one end and a great shot at the other that won the game. "We're both great teams," Knight continued. "You have to try to cut the odds in your favour, but at the end of the day you saw a great hockey game." Has there ever been a faster women's hockey game than that played tonight in Plymouth? The Americans and Canadians tore up and down the ice all night long. USA Hockey arena was packed, and it pretty evenly represented the two nations as chants of "USA! USA" were offset by "Go, Canada, go!" "I heard the Canada chants, and then was thinking, 'Come on! Let's get the U.S. chants!' It was an awesome atmosphere," Knight added. "To get the fan support was amazing. We often play in places we're getting booed, so cheers were great." "I thought we played really well," offered Canada's Meghan Agosta. "I think the biggest thing we can take out of this is to get more quality shots on net. It's tough right now, but we need to bounce back." Canada scored just 61 seconds after the opening faceoff when Jennifer Wakefield collected a loose puck in her end. At that moment, Agosta tore up ice, and Wakefield fed her as they skated in over the blue line on a 2-on-1. Agosta ripped a wicked shot over the glove of Nicole Hensley to stake Canada to an early 1-0 lead. The goal assuredly woke up the Americans, who won the first meeting a week ago by an impressive 2-0 score. Canada might have added to its tally on a power play soon after, but soon after the hosts tied the game. A faceoff win in the Canada zone got the puck back to Kacey Bellamy, and her hard shot was screened, making its way into the goal without Shannon Szabados having much of a chance on it. That goal came at 4:34, and both teams were now fully into what was clearly going to be another battle. The period was back and forth, up and down, the Americans having the better chances, but Szabados steady all the while. Canada's Natalie Spooner made a great rush alone against two defencemen in the final minute, but her shot rang off the far post and it remained a 1-1 game through 20 minutes. The looseness of the opening period wasn't quite there in the second, a period in which Canada had the upper hand. The team was more intense on the puck and pressured the American puck carrier at every touch. But the goalies were letter perfect, Hensley and Szabados stopping everything shot their way, though the former with far more difficult and plentiful shots. A tie game after two, and the seeming certainty of another one-goal victory either way, seems so common we sometimes take for granted how exciting this rivalry is. The game took a huge turn in the opening minute of the third when Bellamy snuck down to the top of the crease and knocked in a quick pass from Knight just 42 seconds in. After that, the Americans swamped Canada, but they couldn't get that third goal. Resilient Canada finally tied the game on the power play. Poulin drove down the right wing and got the puck in front where Brianne Jenner knocked it over the goal line at 9:44. The game felt like overtime after that, but Canada had to kill off two late penalties to get to a fourth period, which it did expertly. The Americans had plenty of puck movement and several great chances, but Szabados was there to hold the fort. That set up another dramatic conclusion in extra time. The Americans are world champions, but once players from both teams return home, they'll all have only one thing on their minds--PyeongChang.

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Medal Match United States OT3 - 2 Canada Period-by-Period: 1-1, 0-0, 1-1, OT: 1-0 April 7th 2017, h. 19:35, USA Hockey Arena 1, Plymouth

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bronze Medal Match Germany 0 - 8 Finland Period-by-Period: 0-3, 0-5, 0-0 April 7th 2017, h. 15:35, USA Hockey Arena 1, Plymouth Finns take bronze Germans finish best-ever 4th despite 8-0 loss Finland's remarkable run of consistency continues with its 12th bronze at the Women's Worlds. It has never finished lower than fourth. Finland scored early, pressured the Germans throughout, and skated to an impressive 8-0 win over Germany in the bronze-medal game of the Women's Worlds. The win caps an excellent tournament for Suomi which earlier defeated Canada for the first time and later railled from a 3-1 deficit against the United States before losing, 5-3. For the Germans, the 4th-place finish is their best ever at this event, all the more impressive given that they were in Division I last year. "We started pretty well in the tournament, but as you can see on the ice against Canada, the United States, and Finland, the gap is big," acknowledged Germany's coach Benjamin Hinterstocker. "We don't have to talk about which team is the better one, but overall, we should be happy for the team and women's hockey in Germany. I think we represented German women's hockey well." Such was the joy the Germans felt for their efforts here in Plymouth that after the game they took a team photo on ice, not a common practise after a lop-sided medal loss. Noora Raty earned the shutout for the Finns today, stopping just 11 shots. The Finns put 38 shots on the German goal. Captain Jenni Hiirikoski had a goal and two assists for the Finns while Petra Nieminen had two goals to lead the balanced attack. "I think this was a big step forward," Hiirikoski said, "especally looking to next season and the Olympics. We're going to be playing and practising with boys next year, and that will help us get to the next level." "It's a good ending," said Raty. "I think we made a good statement here that we might have separated from the rest of the Europeans and actually have a real chance of playing in the finals one day." Today, though, Finland was too much. It scored just 53 seconds after the opening faceoff. Hiirikoski hit Linda Valimaki with a great outlet pass, and Valimaki skated around the German goal and tried a wraparound. Jennifer Harss was there to block the shot, but Petra Nieminen pushed home the rebound. The Finns had the better of the puck all period and scored two late goals to put the game out of reach for the low-scoring Germans. Ronja Savalainen got one at 16:17 on a scramble, and 73 seconds later Venla Hovi also banged in a shot from close range after some fine digging behind the net from Valimaki. Hinterstocker opted to give Ivonne Schroder some time in goal, so she started the second. Unfortunately, the Finns were firing on all cylinders and put five pucks behind her. Hiirikoski started the onslaught with a slapshot from the point on a power play. She then got an assist on the next goal, by Noora Tulus, when Tulus knocked in the rebound off a high shot from Hiirikoski. By the end of the second, it was 32-6 in shots for Finland, and the Germans were simply trying to gain some experience from their second straight bad loss. "We just wanted to play for each other," Hiirikoski said. "We wanted to have fun and focus on winning."

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bronze Medal Match Germany 0 - 8 Finland Period-by-Period: 0-3, 0-5, 0-0 April 7th 2017, h. 15:35, USA Hockey Arena 1, Plymouth

I still think this score and match wasn´t a real difference, your players haven´t played for a while a match, they had just trainings last few weeks. It was just one match, and after I made a quick look in the statistics, It clearly wasn´t a one-sided game. our youngs had great shooting efficiency and Poland had too much penalties, this made the difference. and it´s still only one match, today is scheduled the second match and It might end up quite differently.

Tomorrow 8th April will continue the mens Under 18 Division IA World championship with second day, Also the last day is scheduled for the tournaments in South Korea, the mens U18 Div IIA and womens Div IIA. And tomorrow will also start the womens Division I Group B World Championship in Poland. 6 Nations including our womens National team will play for the medals and the only available ticket for promotion into womens Division I A next year, Hopefully will return there quickly after last years relegation here but surely the confrontations with and host will not be so easy at all. Anyway Good luck girls ! Mens Under 18 Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 2 Schedule (8th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Germany vs Norway 16:30 Kazakhstan vs Hungary 20:00 Denmark vs France Mens Under 18 Division II Group A World Championships 2017 in Gangneung, PyeongChang (KOR) Day 5 Schedule (8th April 2017) GMT +9 Last Day 12:00 Great Britain vs Croatia (Gangneung Hockey Arena) * Direct Match for the maintain in this category. GB has everything in their hands, Croatia must win in regular time to avoid the relegation , any other result will send them into U18 Div IIB next year. 16:30 Lithuania vs Estonia (Gangneung Hockey Arena) *Lithuania in case of win and a help of Korea in the last match can still win the tournament. In fact any their win together with Korean win over Romania in regular time will qualify Lithuania in the higher division. 21:00 South Korea vs Romania (Gangneung Hockey Arena) *Romania with the best cards in their hands, any win will automatically qualify them, doesn´t matter of other results. Korea will qualify only if they win in regular time and Estonia defeat Lithuania in regular time. Livestream - Gangneung Centre Womens Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Katowice (POL) Day 1 Schedule (8th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Italy vs Latvia 16:30 China vs Kazakhstan 20:00 Poland vs Slovakia *Tournament format - The tournament will be played in a usual Round-Robin Format, The 1st ranked Nation will be promoted for the Womens Division I Group A World championship next year, Teams ranked from 2nd to 5th Places will stay in this division also for the next edition, the last 6th ranked Team will be relegated to the Womens Division II Group A World Championship next season. Livestream Womens Division II Group A World Championships 2017 in Gangneung, PyeongChang (KOR) Day 5 Schedule (8th April 2017) GMT +9 Last Day 12:00 North Korea vs Slovenia (Kwandong Hockey Center) 16:30 Netherlands vs South Korea (Kwandong Hockey Center) *Direct Match for the gold medals and promotion, Both teams are tied with 12 points, the winner of the match will qualify for Division IB next year. 21:00 Great Britain vs Australia (Kwandong Hockey Center) *North Korea, Slovenia, Great Britain and Slovenia all still fight for the maintain in this division. The worst situation is now for North Korea, if they will not win tomorrow against Slovenia everything will be clear and they will be relegated, in other hand any win will save them and last match GBR-AUS will became the decisive one. Livestream - Kwandong Centre

Mens Under 18 Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 1 (7th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 France vs Germany 4-2 16:30 Norway vs Kazakhstan 2-1 20:00 Hungary vs Denmark 1-4

Friendly Matches 7th April 2017 Mens Poland - Slovakia "B" 1-6 Latvia - Belarus 1-0 Hungary - Finland 1-6 @Pavlo Poland goal of Aron Chmielewski and his interview after the match...I really tried to understand what he said, but oh dear he speaks so fast that it´s almost impossible to understand a single word

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Relegation Round - Match 3 Switzerland - Czech Republic 3-1 Serie Final Standing 2-1 Swiss stay up Muller's magic propels 3-1 win vs. Czechs The Swiss battled back from one game down to win the last two of the best-of-three and remain in the top pool for 2019. Alina Muller had a goal and two assists. The Czechs, though, might not be relegated as the IIHF is considering expanding the top pool of the Women's Worlds to ten teams. A decision will be made during Congress in May in Cologne during the men's World Championship. "We can't be very happy with seventh place," Muller said after. "We wanted to reach the quarters. All three games against the Czechs were tough, but I think we showed we are a good team." "I'm happy with the way we played in the end," said goalie Florence Schelling, who was excellent in stopping 18 of 19 shots today. "Being down 1-0 in a series isn't fun, but we battled back. I'm proud to be part of this team." You knew Muller was going to have a good game from early on. On her second shift she sprung linemate Lara Stalder clear for a break, but Stalder couldn't beat Blanka Skodova. No matter. A few minutes later Muller was doing her thing again. This time she chased down a loose puck along the right wing and fired a perfect saucer pass to Dominque Ruegg, hustling to the goal. Ruegg got her stick on the pass and tipped it off the post and in at 7:01. It was just the kind of start the Swiss needed. Two and a half minutes later, Muller scored one of the nicest goals of this championships. Skating up the middle alone, her teammates on a line change, she put on a burst of speed as she crossed the Czech blue line, split the defence, and roofed a great shot over Skodova. "I saw a hole between the defence and I had good speed," she said. "I was able to put the puck between them and managed to lift the puck up over the goalie as I fell." The Czechs didn't register their first shot on goal until 11:28, but they made it count. Aneta Ledlova lost the puck on a rush, but Tereza Vanisova followed the play and got the loose puck. She then drilled a great shot past the outstretched glove of Schelling to cut the lead in half. The Czechs dominated the second and were unlucky not to tie the score. They had several great chances and only some nice goaltending from Schelling--and lack of touch around the net by the Czechs--prevented the game from being tied. After two periods, though, the Swiss still clung to a 2-1 lead. Early in the third, the Swiss got that precious insurance goal, on a power play. Muller fed a pass to Stalder at the point, and her hard blast went all the way. And now the Swiss prepare for PyeongChang. After a surprising bronze in Sochi, more might be expected of them, but women's hockey is changing fast. "Going into Sochi was different," Schelling noted. "We were in the top group, so we didn't have to win a game to make the quarter finals. And at that point, it's 50-50. But this time, we're in the lower group, so we have to qualify for the quarters next year. And although we've improved so much, so has all of women's hockey. You can see that in every game."

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Relegation Round - Match 3 Switzerland - Czech Republic 3-1 Serie Final Standing 2-1

MEN'S DIVISION II GROUP A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAY 4 Serbia 4 - 5OT Spain Period-by-Period: 0-3, 2-1, 2-0, OT: 0-1 April 7th 2017, h. 13:00, Arena Galati, Galati Iceland 3 - 9 Belgium Period-by-Period: 1-3, 2-4, 0-2 April 7th 2017, h. 16:30, Arena Galati, Galati Australia 1 - 5 Romania Period-by-Period: 1-1, 0-2, 0-2 April 7th 2017, h. 20:00, Arena Galati, Galati Round-Robin Provisional Standing After Day 4 Nation P W(OTW) L(OTL) GF GA +/- Pt. Romania 4 3(0) 1(0) 18 5 +13 9 Australia 4 3(1) 1(0) 13 13 0 8 Belgium 4 2(0) 2(0) 17 24 -7 6 Iceland 4 2(0) 2(0) 10 14 -4 6 Serbia 4 1(0) 3(2) 17 15 +2 5 Spain 4 1(1) 3(0) 13 17 -4 2

Bosnia withdraws Division III with seven teams The Ice Hockey Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has withdrawn its team from the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III that will start on Monday in Sofia, Bulgaria. The tournament will be played as planned and no changes to the game schedule will be made. However, all Bosnia & Herzegovina games will count as forfeited (5-0 win for the opposing team) and will not be played. As a result and according to IIHF Bylaws 610 and 703, no team participating in the championship will be relegated from the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III, however, Bosnia & Herzegovina will be demoted. Further withdrawal consequences will be discussed. The 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III will be played 10-16 April with seven teams split into two groups followed by the cross-over semi-finals and placement games. Bulgaria, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei will play in Group A and South Africa, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia in Group B.

Mens Under 18 Division II Group A World Championships 2017 in Gangneung, PyeongChang (KOR) Day 4 (7th April 2017) GMT +9 12:00 Great Britain vs Romania 2-4 16:30 Croatia vs Lithuania 1-5 21:00 Estonia vs South Korea 4-3 After OT

MEN'S DIVISION II GROUP B WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAY 3 China 8 - 3 North Korea Period-by-Period: 6-1, 1-1, 1-1 April 7th 2017, h. 13:00, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland Mexico 0 - 1 Turkey Period-by-Period: 0-1, 0-0, 0-0 April 7th 2017, h. 16:30, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland Israel 2 - 5 New Zealand Period-by-Period: 1-3, 0-2, 1-0 April 7th 2017, h. 20:00, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland Round-Robin Provisional Standing After Day 3 Nation P W(OTW) L(OTL) GF GA +/- Pt. China 3 3(0) 0(0) 18 7 +11 9 New Zealand 3 2(0) 1(0) 11 8 +3 6 Mexico 3 1(0) 2(0) 7 8 -1 3 North Korea 3 1(0) 2(0) 15 16 -1 3 Israel 3 1(0) 2(0) 10 12 -2 3 Turkey 3 1(0) 2(0) 5 15 -10 3

[hide] Knockout Round April 4th - April 7th, 2017 6 Nations, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Bronze Medal Match and Gold Medal Match. Bronze Medal Match Eastern Time Zone (GMT -4) Date and Venue Team 1 T1 T2 Team 2 April 7th 2017, h. 15:35, USA Hockey Arena, Plymouth Finland 2 Germany Gold Medal Match Eastern Time Zone (GMT -4) Date and Venue Team 1 T1 T2 Team 2 April 7th 2017, h. 19:35, USA Hockey Arena, Plymouth United States 1 Canada [/hide]

Womens Top Division World Championships 2017 in Plymouth, Michigan (USA) Day 6 Schedule (7th April 2017) GMT -4 Last Day Gold Medal Match 19:35 United States vs Canada (USA National Hockey Arena 1) Bronze Medal Match 15:35 Finland vs Germany (USA National Hockey Arena 1) Relegation Round 12:00 Game 3 - Best of 3 Serie: Switzerland vs Czech Republic (USA National Hockey Arena 1) Serie Standing : 1-1, Final deciding match, The losing team will be relegated to the next year Division I Group A World Championships.

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 1A-QF2 United States - Germany 11-0 HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th Place Match Russia - Sweden 4-3 After GWS HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 2A-QF1 Canada - Finland 4-0 HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Relegation Round - Match 2 Czech Republic - Switzerland 2-3 After OT Serie Standing 1-1 HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 1A-QF2 United States - Germany 11-0 USA to meet Canada for gold Valiant Germans outclassed tonight, 11-0 The Germans have made an impressive splash here in Plymouth, but in tonight's semi-finals they weren't up to the task of competing with the reigning champions. The final score of 11-0 was suitable representation of what transpired tonight. Kendall Coyne had two goals and an assist for the U.S., while four teammates had a goal and two assists and Brianna Decker and Amanda Kessel each had three assists. Eleven goals scored, and American goalie Nicole Hensley had to make only eight saves to record the shutout. And now comes the matchup everyone has been waiting for--another chapter in the Canada-United States rivalry for gold, tomorrow night at 7.30pm. "Any time we get a chance to wear a U.S. jersey on home ice, everyone gets so excited," Coyne said of the team's quest to win gold on home ice for the first time. "Tomorrow, we need to get better at every small aspect. Maybe eliminate one turnover or create one more shot block. Get more pucks to the net. Be better in every area." And, as an appetizer, an impressive Finland team will play the Cinderella Germans for bronze tomorrow afternoon. "We just didn't play as hard as we need to play against a great team like the U.S., but I'm proud of our team because we never gave up," noted starting goalie Jennifer Harss. "We've already started to prepare for tomorrow. It's a big game for us." If it felt to viewers as if the home side were on a power play for 60 minutes, that's what it felt like for the Germans. They were hard-pressed to even gain possession of the puck let alone make a series of passses up ice, and the Americans controlled play in the German end with ease, even making line changes as they circled and passed the puck around. "It's a great experience playing the number-one ranked team," Harss added. "They're a strong, fast, really skilled team. It's also a hard lesson." The outcome was never in doubt. Just 66 seconds from the opening faceoff Coyne burst down the left wing and made a quick pass to Hilary Knight in front. Knight one-timed a shot past Jennifer Harss for the early 1-0 lead. Knight almost had a second goal on her next shift but she fanned on a close-in shot and the puck stayed on the goal line. No matter. The U.S. even had luck on their side. Kelli Stack prepared for a wrist shot, and as she did she was checked from the side by Bernadette Karpf. The puck deflected off Kempf's stick and floated into the goal, fooling Harss. 2-0. The U.S. came out in the second and put the game well out of reach, scoring five goals in a 4:13 span early on and chasing Harss from the goal. It was, to be fair, a mercy pull. Harss had made several outstanding saves and had no chance on any of the goals. Coyne scored two of the five as the Americans padded their stats in impressive fashion this night. How bad was it for the Germans? Gigi Marvin coughed the puck up in front of her goal in the final minute of the second, and Kerstin Spielberger had the puck on her stick. She made a great deke on Hensley, who came out to try the Johnny Bower-style pokecheck, but with a wide-open goal Spielberger fanned on the shot and Marvin recovered to reclaim the puck. Shots on goal in the period: 18-1. "We were down only 2-0 after the first, and I think that was very good for us," offered German coach Benjamin Hinterstocker. "But then in the second they showed why they're a way better team than us. It was a tough game.We played Canada in Fussen in January, and now the U.S. here, so it's great to show our players what they have to do to be the top." The Americans added four more goals in the final 20 minutes, much to the delight of the loud, pro-American crowd at USA Hockey Arena.

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 1A-QF2 United States - Germany 11-0

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th Place Match Russia - Sweden 4-3 After GWS

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 2A-QF1 Canada - Finland 4-0 Canada swamps Finns, 4-0 Szabados perfect when she had to be Leaving nothing to chance, Canada came out firing on all cylinders and never let up. The Finns have had a great tournament but couldn't match Canada's speed. Canada got goals from four players, and goalie Shannon Szabados wasn't busy but she was sensational on occasion in recording her second consecutive shutout of the tournament. She stopped 23 shots on the afternoon. "Shannon's one of the best in the world, and we have a lot of confidence when she's in goal," Rebecca Johnston said. "She made some big saves for us, so we're glad she's on our team." The win sends Canada to tomorrow night's gold-medal game against the winner of tonight's United States-Germany game. Finland will play for bronze in the afternoon against tonight's losing team. "We wanted to play with a lot of energy and get a lot of pucks on net," said captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who had a goal and assist for the winners. "We're happy with how we played and are looking forward to the final game now." "We couldn't get our legs going in the first ten minutes," said Finland's goalie, Noora Raty. "The difference was how we played, not how they played. We knew they'd come out hard, but we just didn't have an answer for it. They took it to us." Canada looked markedly different and moved the puck up ice effectively, avoiding the forechecking that made Finland so successful a few days ago during its 4-3 upset win. In the offensive end, Canada made crisp passes and created scoring chances galore through tenacity and greater determination. "We had a tough start to the tournament, but I think that only made us stronger," Poulin continued. "We had a little adversity, and we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we're here to win that gold medal." "We wanted to focus on the little things tonight," noted Johnston, who scored a goal in the third period. "We needed to be more aggressive and use our speed, and we had a lot of puck support. We were more confident tonight." "We gave them more room," Michelle Karvinen said, offering the opposite point of view. "We were pressuring them a lot more last time. It took a while for us to get into the game. I don't know why. We had our chances, but we couldn't score. We didn't get traffic in front of their net. That's hockey." Canada opened the scoring at 17:35 of the first when Brianne Jenner's point shot caused havoc in Raty's crease. Sarah Potomak banged in the loose puck for the 1-0 lead. "The first goal is key in any game because it gives you the momentum," Johnston noted. "We got confident and kept rolling from there. Our speed made them a bit nervous, I think, especially in the first period." The Canadians added two more goals in the second as they kept up a ferocious puck-pursuit and puck-possession game. Poulin scored a beauty at 5:08 as she outwaited Raty and then roofed a sensational shot into a small opening above the goalie's shoulder. Johnston made it 3-0 on a power play, wiring a shot off the post and in at 7:33. When Finland got a late power play in the third, coach Pasi Mustonen pulled Raty to create a two-man advantage, but Emily Clark potted an empty-netter at 15:31 to close out the scoring. Finland now prepares for a bronze-medal game tomorrow, after which the focus is on PyeongChang at the 2018 Olympics just ten months away. "We've been playing better and better in recent years," Raty said. "We know they'll probably win nine games out of ten, but we hope that one game will be in the Olympics. We already got them here, so it would be a miracle if we won in the South Korea as well. But we'll try."

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Semifinal 2A-QF1 Canada - Finland 4-0