The Canadian women’s ice hockey team was not laughing for its semi-final match once morest the Swiss, on the night of Sunday to Monday at the Beijing Olympics, she who won 9 to 3.
The Canadians hit hard and fast in the first period, hitting the target five times in the space of 3:24.
Claire Thompson began this offensive push by shaking the ropes when 7:16 had passed since the initial face-off. Jamie Lee Rattray doubled the lead 72 seconds later, while Blayre Turnbull made it 3-0 36 seconds following Rattray’s success. Renata Fast then ended the match for Swiss goalkeeper Andrea Brandli, beating her for the fourth time, 17 seconds following Turnbull’s net.
The door finally allowed four goals on 18 shots, and this, in just 9 min 21 s.
Erin Ambrose, for her part, welcomed Saskia Maurer, Brandli’s replacement, by completing this offensive sequence of five goals in 204 seconds.
The Maple Leaf representatives were just as dominant in the second period. Quebecer Marie-Philip Poulin took advantage of this engagement to flash the red light twice, while Emily Clark also scored a goal.
Emma Maltais and Brianne Jenner completed this offensive domination by hitting the mark in the final third. The Canadians eventually led a total of 61 pucks on the Swiss net.
This performance by the members of the maple leaf was not flawless, however. Their opponents, through Lara Stalder (twice) and Alina Muller, beat goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens three times on 13 shots.
In the final, the Canadians will face the winners of the other semi-final, played Monday morning, between the Americans and the Finns. The final will take place on Wednesday evening.
It will be a Canada-USA final.
The Americans posted a narrow 4-1 win over Finland Monday in Beijing to join the Canadians in the final of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament.
Cayla Barnes opened the scoring in the second period, then Hilary Knight and Hayley Scamurra added. Susanna Tapani closed the lead with 26 seconds left in the game, but the Finns ran out of time. An empty goal from Abby Roque then sealed the result.
Canada and the United States will meet for the sixth time in the final of the Olympics out of seven editions of the women’s tournament. The Canadians are four-time gold medalists, but it was the Americans who triumphed in Pyeongchang four years ago. The final game is Wednesday night Eastern Standard Time.
Finland has an appointment with the Swiss for bronze.
