When the going got tough for Canada against Sweden in the World Championships yesterday, the Canadian lines stacked with U.S. college experience got going.
Despite trailing 1-0 after a period, Canada topped Sweden by a convincing 7-1 margin in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Halifax Metro Centre. Skaters with U.S. college experience, despite making up only a third of the roster, figured on all seven Canadian goals, scored five of them, and produced 11 of 16 points.
Jennifer Botterill, the all-time leading scorer in U.S. college history at Harvard, led all scorers with a goal and three assists, and she leads the tournament in scoring with three goals and nine assists. Caroline Ouellette, the NCAA’s top scorer this season with UMD, was right behind with a goal and two assists, and she leads the tournament with a +11 rating.
Botterill and Ouellette have teamed up with Jayna Hefford to form the most prolific scoring line in the tournament. They started the Canadian comeback at 6:08 of the first period when Ouellette fed Hefford in front for a five-hole finish.
They struck twice more before the end of the game. With just a second left in the second period, Ouellette worked the puck from behind the net to Botterill for a quick strike, and Hefford buried the rebound for Canada’s fourth goal. For the fifth goal 7:21 into the third period, Ouellette worked the puck to Botterill behind the net, and Botterill worked it back in front to Hefford for a quick opposite-side finish.
“We haven’t played together that long, and I’m loving it,” Botterill said. “I’m pretty fortunate to play with her and Caroline Ouellette. I’ve been having a great time — they both have such great speed and the ability to put the puck in the net. It’s fun to be out there and create opportunities.”
Five minutes later, a Botterill pass found St. Lawrence senior Gina Kingsbury rushing up ice. When Kingsbury hit the blue line, she fired the puck over the shoulder of young Swedish goalie Kim Martin, who made 48 saves.
“Botts’ pass was unbelievable and I was going with a lot of speed when she gave it to me. I was lucky it went in,” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury, who made the 2001 Canadian team but was an early cut from the 2002 squad, has provided several superb scoring chances against tough competition thanks to her speed.
“She’s been flying out there,” Botterill said. “She’s skating really well, she’s got great hands, she’s seeing the ice, taking a lot of great shots, and just creating things for her teammates. She’s improved in a lot of different ways.”
Aside from Kingsbury, Dartmouth sophomores Gillian Apps and Cherie Piper each provided a spark. For the third Canada goal, Piper set Apps free with a tricky bouncing pass, and Apps provided the strong finish into the far-side corner. Piper scored Canada’s sixth goal on a wrap-around.
The Dartmouth pair and Kingsbury can thrive on the Olympic ice in ways they can’t on the smaller ice typical of the college level.
“The big ice is definitely to our advantage, and Piper has some wheels to play with, so we like to make use of that as much as we can,” Apps said.
Now that three have asserted themselves at this level, they hope they can stay there.
“For sure at the international level, you have to move the puck quicker, you have to skate faster, your reaction time is so shorter than any other level,” Kingsbury said. “It’s definitely improved my game a lot. I think I’m ready to play at this level and keep my position on this squad. It’s hard that it’s so fast, but I love it.”
The one Canadian line that did not score this game or Saturday happened to be the one Canadian line that lacks any U.S. college experience — the pairing of Hayley Wickenheiser, Danielle Goyette and Cassie Campbell. They also form Canada’s oldest line and they aren’t used often on specialty teams. They did all score in earlier rounds of the tournament, however.
“The good thing about our team is we’re getting scoring from all of lines, that’s a strength for us,” said Canada coach Karen Hughes.
Next up for the Canadians is the gold medal game on Tuesday night. The game is all but assured of being a rematch against the U.S. The Americans can still lose to Sweden by three goals and make the final.
