2009-10 National Women's Team

CANADA TOPS U.S. ON AMERICAN TURF

DENVER, Colo. – Canada’s National Women’s Team may have crossed over onto American soil Saturday night, but some spectacular saves by Kim St. Pierre (Châteauguay, Que.) and crisp offensive passing helped the Canadians earn a 4-2 win south of the border at the University of Denver’s Magness Arena.

This latest victory also gives Canada an edge against the United States in 2009-10, with four wins and three losses.

Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.) opened the scoring for Canada midway through the first period, picking up the puck after it bounced off the back boards and slipping it past American netminder Jessie Vetter. Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, Ont.) earned the assist after skating hard to the net and firing a shot in the direction of Vetter to create the chance.

Gillian Ferrari (Thornill, Ont.), Caroline Ouellette (Montreal Que.) and Hayley Wickenheiser (Shaunavon, Sask.) also sent some rockets soaring in Vetter’s direction during the first, but to no avail, sending Canada to the dressing room up 1-0.

The Canadians came out flying in the second, pushing their lead to 3-0 with two goals less than a minute apart in the early minutes of the period.

Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) finished off a game of Canadian tic-tac-toe to make it 2-0 on a Canadian power play, finishing off a pretty passing play from Sarah Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Catherine Ward (Montreal, Que.), and Ouellette made it a three-goal lead 58 seconds later, scoring after a scramble in front of Vetter.

There was more back-and-forth action in the third, with Karen Thatcher cracking the goose egg for the United States just over five minutes into the period to make it 3-1, but Agosta answered back for Canada less than thirty seconds later to restore the three-goal advantage.

Hilary Knight put one more past St-Pierre on an American power play with the minutes ticking down, but that would be as close as the U.S. got. Pulling Vetter in the dying minutes wasn’t enough to sway the game in the direction of the Americans, with Canada claiming the win in front of a pro-U.S. crowd.

The United States will have a chance to come back this Tuesday, December 15, but this time it will be on Canada’s home turf, with the puck dropping at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alta. at 7:30 p.m. MT.

The two international rival teams will also face off against each other  on Wednesday, December 30 at the Xcel Energy Centre in St. Paul, Minn. (7 p.m. CT) and on Friday, January 1 at SBP Arena in Ottawa, Ont. (7 p.m. ET).

Goals/Buts :
10:14 CAN Gina Kingsbury (Meghan Agosta)

Penalties/Pénalités :
00:36 USA Angela Ruggeiro (Body-checking/Mise en échec corporelle)
04:36 USA Jenny Potter (Hooking/Accrocher)
12:16 CAN Gillian Ferrari (Interference/Obstruction)
15:27 USA Jocelyne Lamoureux (Cross-checking/Double-échec)
15:48 CAN Caroline Ouellette (Roughing/Rudesse)

Goals/Buts :
06:30 CAN Marie-Philip Poulin (Sarah Vaillancourt, Catherine Ward) PP/AN
07:28 CAN Caroline Ouellette (Jayna Hefford, Jennifer Botterill)

Penalties/Pénalités :
01:57 CAN Sarah Vaillancourt (Body-checking/Mise en échec corporelle)
05:05 USA Molly Enstrom (Body-checking/Mise en échec corporelle)
14:15 CAN Sarah Vaillancourt (Body-checking/Mise en échec corporelle)