HERNING, Denmark – Canada’s National Women’s Team will look to defend its IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medal when it meets the United States on Sunday, following an 8-1 semifinal win over Switzerland on Saturday night.
· Canada outshot Switzerland 56-6.
Following the game, the tournament announced Canada’s top three players as Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Fillier and Jocelyne Larocque.
Next Game:
Canada vs. United States (Gold Medal Game) – Sunday, Sept. 4 (1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT)
Quotes:
“I liked a lot of our game, even on the bench it was a good atmosphere. Our group was engaged, and I thought we showed more depth today; all lines contributed in some capacity and we got away from just relying on just our high offence. We went low, we went middle and high and that’s a lot better way for us to play. We got kind of predictable and it’s funny, we have so much confidence in our high offence, we can rely on it too much, so I thought we had a little more variety tonight and if we bring that variety tomorrow, it’ll cause some problems.”
- Head Coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.) on adjustments in the team’s style of play
“I think we’re aware that every game we’re going to get better and today was probably our most complete game as a group. Every line was contributing, doing the little things right and at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to make a difference in the championship game. We kept it simple, a lot of goals were just about getting the puck on net and getting to the rebound; that’s key and we’ll have to do that again tomorrow. The gold medal game is huge—I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, but we know the target is on us and it’s okay. It’s about using the excitement and knowing [the United States] are coming for us, but just playing our game, keeping our focus on us and competing for 60 minutes.”
- Poulin on the team peaking at the right time
“I mainly play the puck as much as I can when I have the opportunity. Teams are going to try and dump the puck in a little more so working on that and communicating with my teammates. Also, in every T.V. timeout, I make sure to go to the bench, help them out, tell them what I see, what can we do better and also telling them what they did great. Obviously today they did a lot of great things, so staying involved, focused and being ready for the next shot.
“I have goosebumps just thinking and talking about it. Canada-USA is an amazing rivalry, it’s always intense and we definitely get the best out of each other. It’s physical and that’s what we love about it. It’s definitely going to be a very good game tomorrow.”
- Desbiens on staying engaged when facing minimal shots and on facing USA for gold
REMINDER: Bidding is now open for the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship Team Canada game-worn jersey auction, with bids closing at 9 p.m. ET on Sep. 4: HockeyCanada.ca/Auction.
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