Canadian women win group stage

Canada - USA 3-2 (0-0, 0-1, 3-1)

The group stage match between Canada and USA - already qualified directly for the semifinals by taking the first two positions in group A - was rather meaningless for the destiny of both teams in this tournament. Still such a game between the two archrivals is always a hard fight as it's all about the own country's and hockey programm's prestige to show who of them truely is the best team in the world.

The game started with extremly fast hockey and a series of best scoring opportunities on both sides. Only 29 seconds were played when American Kelli Stack hit the crossbar with a shot from the right circle. Two minutes later Jessie Vetter showed her goalie skills with an excellent pad save in a 1-on-1 against Canadian forward Jocelyne Larocque. Another minute went by until Jessie Vetter stopped another break way - this time by Brianna Jenner! For most parts of the first period both teams neutralized themselves and concentrated on a stable defense before a heavy mistake in the American defense started another series of chances. A defender had given a misrected pass just into the feet of Canadian Natalie Spooner who tried to beat Vetter with a shot through the pads in the following rush but the goalie even avoided a rebound. Now also the Americans tried it in offense where they had more shots on goal (11-8) but their opponents ahd the better chances.

The middle period started slow with few good chances for Jocelyne Lamoureux (USA) and Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada). At 32:52 the American women had a 2-on-1 counter but after a pass by Hilary Knight it was Kelli Stack who failed to beat Charline Labonte from short distance! When Canada's Lauriane Rougeau took two minutes for an unallowed bodycheck this should be punished. A well-placed one-timer by Anne Schleper from within the slot was deflected into the left bottom corner by the stick of Hilary Knight for the lucky but not undeserved 1-0 lead for Team USA at 37:34!  The Canadians then could thank their goalie Labonte that she stayed cool against Kendall Coyne and Hilary Knight to avoid a bigger deficit before the second intermission.

The Canadian women came very aggressively out of the dressing rooms for period number three and the Americans became increasingly nervous. A tripping penalty against Julie Chu then led to the early equalizer through Meghan Agosta in power play! On her 27th birthday she gave herself the best gift when she waited at the right post until she received a pass from out of the crowd and fired the puck into the wide open net past the already beaten Jessie Vetter! Just one and a half minutes later the puck crossed the American goal line against! This time it was veteran Hayley Wickenheiser who beat Vetter from the right circle after a rush through the American zone at 43:54. Jessie Vetter looked extrely unlucky as it seemed that she pushed the puck herself into the net during a clearing attempt! After a video review the referees decided that there was no interference and they gave the goal! Team USA looked shocked from that point on and barely found its way into the Canadian zone. One of the few attacks almost ended with a lucky punch by Jocelyne Lamoureux whose pass from the right circle almost jumped over the pads of Labonte! In the 52nd minute Rebecca Johnston was denied a goal in a 1-on-1 with Vetter. The game winner then should come when Meghan Agosta scored her second of the afternoon when she ended a break away which she started in her own team's zone with a nice deke against Vetter for the 3-1! With their goalie pulled out for an additional attacker the Americans even scored the 2-3 through Anne Schlepper - Charline Labonte wasn't able to catch the puck with her glove - but the race to catch up came too late!

Switzerland - Finland 3-4 OT (0-2, 2-1, 1-0, 0-1)

In the first 20 minutes it looked like the typical game of Team Switzerland during these Olympic Winter Games. They started stable in defense but the first goal against let them lose all their self-confidence. Jenni Hiirikoski had beaten Florence Schelling in the Swiss net by tipping in a shot by Mira Jalosuo from the right wing and the puck eventually went between Schelling and the right goal post at 07:56! Almost exactly two minutes later the Fins scored again - this time shorthanded after a tripping penalty against Emma Terho! Out of the blue Michelle Karvinen was through with a break away after a long pass to the Swiss blue line and left Florence Schelling no chance with a deke to the left! Prior to the first intermission Finland could have scored more often but failed even in best opportunities.

The Swiss team suddenly came out of the dressing rooms with a completely new face and had best scoring opportunities through Phoebe Stanz during a 2-on-1 break away and Sara Benz who missed the wide open net after dekeing out Noora Räty in the Finnish net before Romy Eggiman scored the first goal for Switzerland during these Olympics at 23:28. A Finnish defender had deflected a shot from the right circle into the net with her skates. The Fins barely made it out of their own zone in the following minutes with Sara Benz having the best chance when she tried to deke out Räty during a break away but was stopped unfair by Emma Terho. The following power play ended after just 29 seconds when Switzerland tied the game when Phoebe Stanz scored from short distance after a pass by Jessica Lutz. At 30:59 Evelina Raselli received a match penalty for trying to kick Annina Rajahuhta after being pushed by her to the ice. Only then Finland regained their confidence and Michelle Karvinen who was left alone in front of Schelling tipped in a cross-pass from the right by Susanna Tappani at 35:31 to make it 3-2 Finland just before the end of the five minute power play. The Fins could have even had a bigger lead but Schelling did her best to keep the puck outside.

The third period started very slow with a Finnish team investing their efforts mostly in defense while Switzerland found no way past Räty. Just when it looked that the small lead would be enough for Finland a two minute penalty for an unallowed body check against Annina Rajahuhta led to the equalizer by Switzerland in power play at 56:25. Stefanie Marty had tried to give a pass from behind the net and during the clearing attempt for Noora Räty who was out of position for a moment, Venla Hovi deflected the puck into the own net with her body! Switzerland tried to use the momentum but the result stayed at 3-3 after the regular time. With the start of the overtime Finland played all or nothing and had two major opportunities before Jenni Hiirikoski tipped in a long pass by Linda Valimaki for the game winner for Finland!

Final standings: Group A
#  Club        G  W   W-OT   L-OT   L    Score    P
1  Canada   3   3   0   0   0   11:2   9
2  USA   3   2   0   0   1   14:4   6
3  Finland   3   0   1   0   2   5:9   2
4  Switzerland   3   0   0   1   2   3:18   1

Which team of group A will face which team in group B will only be decided on Thursday during the match between Sweden and Russia. Then we will also know who are the possible opponents for Canada and USA in the semifinals! More information follows tomorrwo afternoon!

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