Team Canada’s quest for a golden repeat is off to a good start at the 2022 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Denmark.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin and veteran forward Sarah Nurse each had a goal and an assist to lead Canada to a 4-1 victory over Finland at the KVIK Hockey Arena. Meaghan Mikkelson and Blayre Turnbull also scored for the defending world champions while netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens made 16 saves in the win.
Canada had a strong showing defensively in their tournament opener, killing off six Finnish power plays and stopping a penalty shot. The Canadians, who were without veteran defenseman Erin Ambrose due to a lower body injury suffered in a pre-tournament game, outshot Finland 43-17 despite all the time spent shorthanded.
Canada opened the scoring with a power play goal. Finland’s Petra Nieminen received a five-minute major and game misconduct for a check from behind on Kristin O’Neill. At 7:38, Nurse redirected a Poulin shot past Finnish netminder Anni Keisala to give Canada a 1-0 advantage.
Finland tied the game at 12:07. After Desbiens stopped a point shot through a screen, Julia Liikala collected the rebound and netted her first of the tournament.
READ MORE: Team Canada looks to stay golden at IIHF World Women’s Championship
Poulin put Canada back in front at 14:51. The Canadian captain entered the zone and skated into the circle, picking her spot and wiring a perfectly placed wrist shot over the shoulder of Keisala to make it 2-1. Finland had a great opportunity to tie the game again in the final seconds after being awarded a penalty shot. Kiira Yrjänen took the shot for the Finns but was stopped by the pad of Desbiens.
Mikkelson, making her return to the international scene after recovering from a severe knee injury, scored at 10:01 of the second period to give Canada a two-goal lead. After a turnover by the Finns, the puck made its way to Ella Shelton who had her shot blocked by some bodies in front of the net. Mikkelson found the loose puck and beat Keisala, making it 3-1 for the Canadians.
Canada got into some penalty trouble late in the period but were able to kill them off. Despite the late man advantages for Finland, shots were 19-4 in favour of the Canadians in the middle frame.
Canada’s strong defensive play was on display again in the third period. Turnbull made it a 4-1 final with an empty net goal with 1:32 remaining.
Canada returns to action on Saturday, taking on Switzerland at 1 p.m. ET. The Swiss play their first game of the tournament on Friday against Japan.
