Women's Olympic Recap: Canada 12, Switzerland 1

Natalie Spooner and Claire Thompson had five points apiece to help Canada open with a win over Switzerland.

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BEIJING, China Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team opened its preliminary-round schedule at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games with a bang on Thursday afternoon (Wednesday night in Canada), tallying its most goals since 2013 in a 12-1 win over Switzerland.

• Sarah Fillier (Georgetown, Ont.), Laura Stacey (Kleinburg, Ont.)Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) and Blayre Turnbull (Stellarton, N.S.) scored two goals apiece.
• Spooner also posted three assists for a five-point outing, Turnbull added two assists and Fillier set up a goal.
• Claire Thompson (Toronto, Ont.) scored her first-ever Team Canada goal and added four assists, becoming just
the fourth Canadian to record four helpers in an Olympic game.
• Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.) finished with a goal and three assists.
• Ashton Bell (Deloraine, Man.) and Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.) also scored.
• Ann-Renee Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) recorded 14 saves for the win.
• Canada outshot Switzerland 70-15, tying its record for most shots in a single Olympic game (previously done Feb. 16, 2002 vs. Sweden).

 

Next Game:
Canada vs. Finland – Friday, Feb. 4 (11:10 p.m. ET/8:10 p.m. PT)

Quotes:
“I think there were a lot of good things in the game. I thought offensively we were deliberate and intentional with everything we did. We stuck to our systems and concepts and had some success with it. It was nice to see some of the young ones score their first Olympic goal, and it was fun. I think early on everybody just wants to get a shift or two under their belts, but once they did, everyone, including the rookies, settled in.”
- Head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.) on the Olympic opener

“We were all so excited to play after taking so much time off. The girls came out of the gate flying and never let our foot off the gas. I think I was definitely a bit nervous at the start of the game, but the veteran players gave us some advice and we can always look to them at any point because they are just so calm. I was able to settle into the game pretty quick and had a lot of fun out there.”
- Thompson on her Olympic debut

“We played well, but I think we can even play better, turning up the ice even quicker than we did today. Obviously not having played [since Dec. 17], we were just starting to get back into it, building on the lead and keep playing faster moving forward.”
- Spooner on the team’s performance

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